


Naruto Boys x Reader Modern AU Boyfriend Scenarios

by onehellofaholiday



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluffy, Oneshot, Preferences, Reader Insert, Scenario, Scenarios, boyfriend scenarios, naruto reader insert, oneshots, preference, x Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 64,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25257328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onehellofaholiday/pseuds/onehellofaholiday
Summary: Some fluffy Modern AU boyfriend scenarios that follow a cohesive storyline for each character! LONG CHAPTERS! Includes Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, Kakashi, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Sai. Modern AU, all the boys at senior year of high school (with the exception of Kakashi who is a teacher) [no lemons but some mild mature content] Migrated from my quotev page!
Relationships: Gaara (Naruto)/Reader, Hatake Kakashi/Reader, Inuzuka Kiba/Reader, Nara Shikamaru/Reader, Sai (Naruto)/Reader, Uchiha Sasuke/Reader, Uzumaki Naruto/Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 150





	1. An Encounter

** Uzumaki Naruto **

You step onto the train and position yourself next to a pole, keeping a firm grip on the cold metal. _It's so cold today..._ You bury face into your scarf and looked at your reflection in the pole. Your face distorts as you move around it, stretching vertically and horizontally like a carnival fun-house mirror. You look kind of funny. You smile and can't help but stick your tongue out at your reflection into the pole. It sticks its tongue back at you only the distortion makes your tongue look huge.

You laugh into your scarf before doing it again but you stop in the middle of the act, a tiny bit of tongue still sticking out as you look up to see a boy your age on the other side of the pole. His blue eyes glitter as he laughs and runs his hands through his blonde hair. You quickly retract your tongue and turn a shade of cherry red, suddenly burning up despite the icy winter chill. _Oh crap._ You're so embarrassed. You hug yourself in your embarrassment, turning around and hoping that you could avoid him, but you couldn't help but feel his gaze trained on you. The train began to move and you realized you were no longer holding the pole, and were thrown backwards. You yelped, tripping over your feet and felt yourself fall into the stranger.

As the train's speed picked up and evened out he held your shoulders and got you back up on your feet.

"I-I'm sorry haha..." you normally would have been able to compose yourself at this point, but considering the fact that he was watching you that whole time you were messing around with your reflection you still didn't want to face him. You avoided his gaze as he responded.

"No, no it's okay," he grinned again. His smile - it just... Spread across his whole face. It was so contagious. You almost opened your mouth to respond but the train stopped. "I guess this is my stop," he said, turning to leave, "see you around." He stood on the platform and flashed you one last grin before the doors closed.

In spite of the world being a blur as the train sped up, you could have sworn you saw him standing on the platform, eyes locked with yours as the train left the station.

* * *

** Uchiha Sasuke **

Well, today was a bust.

Your friend had asked if you wanted to head out today for a "fun day at the arcade"... Which turned out to be a day of third wheeling with her and her boyfriend. Gross. It's not that you weren't happy for her or anything, you know that you wanted to see her happy and for her to be happy... But there's "aw that's kind of cute" couple action and then there's... Well... Stuff that probably shouldn't be done in public in the first place. You sighed, propping your head up in your hands while you watched the two of them at the shooting game having a blast and then... _God, are they about to make out again?_ You cringe as you avert your eyes for what must be the fourth time today. You blankly watch the screen in front of you. It's a racer game, but a two player one. You had put your token into the machine maybe thirty minutes ago after your friend promised she'd finally play a game with you, only for her to run off with her boyfriend to do... Something. And now they were making out. Again. _WAITING FOR PLAYER 2!_ Flashed in your face like it was mocking you for being ignored. Geez.

You propped your legs up on the "dashboard" of your race car. Hey, at least the seat was comfortable. It was like being in the car... _Driving home... So you could lay in your bed... And..._

Your daydream was interrupted by a _READY PLAYER 2!_ blaring from the speakers built into the console. You shot up in your seat with a yelp, grabbing the wheel. _What? They're done? Did I fall asleep?_ You turn to the second seat and see a boy with dark hair and onyx eyes that were fixed onto his screen with determination. His hands firmly gripped the wheel and he tossed a look at you over his shoulder. While his facial expression remained mostly neutral, you could sense a challenging look in his eyes. You followed suit, with a look in your own (E/C) eyes that told him...

_Oh, It's on._

* * *

** Inuzuka Kiba **

Man, you were so ready to bite into this hot dog. You've just moved in and you've been starving all day, and this is the first time you've been able to have something that wasn't instant ramen (which you were honestly getting a little sick of now). You situated yourself on a bench by the park just people-watching. It was _so_ good to get a breath of fresh air. All of those boxes in your new place were really making you feel cramped up and you've kind of been longing for _some_ kind of human interaction since you arrived. But considering that you haven't met anyone yet people-watching was the next best thing. You opened your mouth to take a bite into your snack when you felt something nudge your arm.

You turn around to see the biggest dog you've seen in your life. Really, you could ride it if you wanted to. You stare at it in a stunned silence for a few moments before realizing what it wants as you notice its eyes fixed on the hot dog in your hand. It tilts its head to the left, as if asking for permission. You can't help but give in. You've always had a soft spot for dogs. 

"Alright, alright," you smiled to yourself, freeing the hot dog from its paper wrappings, turning to the dog. It sits down patiently, its huge tail thumping on the path in anticipation. Again: cute. You offer the hot dog to your new friend who eats it up in a single bite. You know, maybe the company of this dog can compensate for your lack of human interaction for the past few days. Giving it a few pets on the head you get up to take a walk around, and to your surprise the dog follows you. You stop and look around and the dog stops with you. It begins to lick your face, its tail continuing to wag with delight. What a sweet dog. It must belong to someone. There's no way it's a stray.

_"Akamaru!_ " A voice calls, panicked and worried. You look off in the distance and see a boy about your age running towards you. You lock eyes with him and he stops right there on the street, mortified. Bolting towards the dog he grabs it and tries to pry it away from you. "I'm so sorry," he flashes you a nervous grin, "he gets a little attached. You didn't offer him any food did you?" You don't even get a chance to answer before he notices the ketchup stained wrapper in your hands and groans. He looks back at you and turns to the dog, "did you get all over her face, Akamaru? Gross."

As he continued scolding his dog, who you now knew was named Akamaru, you noticed that the dog _did_ get all over your face as you put a hand to your cheek and feel a good amount of dog drool there. Sticky. You were kind of grossed out but you couldn't help but smile watching the boy disappointedly scolding Akamaru like a father would a son. The boy turns back to you and pulls a few tissues out of his pocket, holding them up to your face to wipe the drool off. You can't stop yourself from going red as he tilts your chin up to get a better look at your face to clean it. You can feel his breath fanning your face. _O-oh._ You could feel your cheeks burn up. He speaks, addressing his dog again.

"Man, Akamaru. Always a hit with the ladies aren't you. They just can't say no to you, can they," he smirks. You know he's not talking to you but _damn that little smile_. When he's done he tosses the soggy tissues over his shoulder and they land in the wastebasket behind him. "Well, sorry about that. You should probably go home and rinse up a bit. You don't want any of Akamaru's gross drool sticking around and ruining that pretty face of yours, huh?" He winks, turning on his heel and walking away. Akamaru reluctantly follows, and you reach your hand up to touch your face again where his hand had just been. Despite the awkward situation, something inside of you wished his hand could have stayed there a bit longer.

* * *

** Sabaku no Gaara **

You've always seen people use shopping lists in movies and TV shows when heading to the grocery store but you've always thought that was silly - people don't _actually_ do that, right? But suddenly that seems like it's a better idea than what you had in mind. Or rather, what you don't have in mind.

You arrived at the grocery store and realized that you had completely forgotten what you were here to get. You were aimlessly wandering around the grocery store when you made your way to the feminine hygiene aisle. Your eyebrows furrowed as you tried to picture your sink at home. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stock up a little...

A boy with red hair and teal eyes was pacing the aisle speaking into his phone. He looked distressed and, quite frankly, a little anxious. _Poor guy._ You couldn't count the number of times you've seen an uncomfortable boyfriend walking around this aisle in a daze, scrutinizing each and every pack of pads and tampons and crossing their fingers hoping they'll pick the right one. You couldn't help but eavesdrop on his conversation. "Temari, I don't know what-"

"Gaara," a female voice said flatly, "Any one of them will be fine. Just get something for a heavy flow and make your way home." The call must have ended, and he pocketed his phone with a sigh, staring helplessly at the ceiling.

"I don't even know what that _means_..." His voice was barely a whisper, but you could hear his distress as he began raking his hands through his hair, teal eyes scanning the aisle. 

You pretended to look for something for yourself, keeping the caller's request in mind. You felt bad for him, and wanted to help him out. Taking a purple package from the bottom shelf you walked up to him. "Hey, here..."

He stared at you for a few seconds, and - was that - you could've sworn he was blushing _ever so slightly_ before taking them from you and putting them in his cart. "Thanks," his voice was quiet. He was so shy and yet his girlfriend sounded so different from him. You wondered how they possibly could have gotten together. She sounded more like a sister than she would a girlfriend. Probably just a case of the time-of-the-month crankies.

"I've found that 'angry girlfriend' can usually be solved with a bit of chocolate if that's a problem you need solving," you smiled, trying to put him at ease. It did quite the opposite. He just became all the more flustered.

"Wh- no - what- I," he stammered, nose wrinkling in disgust, "she's my sister!"

It was your turn to awkwardly stammer and sputter, "O-oh I-I'm sorry about that ahahah..." The two of you stood looking at each other in a horribly awkward silence.

* * *

** Hatake Kakashi **

"Welcome to the Konoha Public Libr-"

"Th-thanks!" You stuttered a reply as you dashed past the woman at the checkout desk. Faces were a blur and warm reading lights streaked by as you meandered between book carts and shelves, making your way to the back shelves. Glancing around and scanning for people you knew, you made a run for it, definitely turning some heads - you can't afford to have anyone recognize you. Finally, you made it to the back. Your eyes moved through each shelf before finally locking in on their target - "Icha Icha Innocence". It was a mistake that you were introduced to the _"Icha Icha"_ series and you hate to admit it but you were hooked. But you wouldn't dare share that with anyone. Which is why it was imperative that you get that book and get out of here. _Great. Now if I can just..._ Your arm reached out to grab the book it disappeared. You blinked. You blinked again. You could've sworn you just saw -

You turned your head to see a masked man around your age with the book in hand leaning against the shelf.

"Oh, you were looking for this?" He tipped his head towards the book. You narrowed your eyes, you couldn't read this guy. Despite the mask you knew that eyes are the windows to the soul, but his eye maintained a dull expression, like he was half asleep. Actually, his entire demeanor just radiated "I just got out of bed and rolled my way here". Everything from his posture to his expression to his almost bedhead hair... It was kind of cute, actually, and your mind started drifting away wondering if this is actually what he looked like after getting up in the morning... But never mind that right now. 

"Um, yeah. Yeah I was."

"What's a sweet lady like you doing reading these?" His eyes quickly analyzed you from head to toe like a predator sizing up its prey. _What's with this guy?_

"Why does it matter to you?" You went on the defensive, but you honestly didn't know what to say. He must have picked up on this because he didn't even bother responding. He just laughed, a sweet sound that was muffled by his mask, and sauntered away. You couldn't help but wonder what was hiding under it. You stood there in a stunned silence watching him leave and didn't even realize that he had taken your book with him.

* * *

** Nara Shikamaru **

You've been sitting in this cafe doing your work for a while now and you couldn't help but notice the guy at the table in front of you, who has been punching away at his calculator for the whole time you've been there. Honestly, you came to the cafe hoping that you'd be able to finally get some work done. You've found that you can never concentrate when you're at home. Too many distractions. At least when you're in public with all of your pens and books you feel pressured by everyone around you to make use of all of the stuff you brought with you and be productive. As a child you'd always watch the students in cafes, highlighting, typing, and calculator..ing... Away with no end. Today you intended to be one of those people, but you've just spent this whole time pretending to do your work while you sneak peeks at this damn boy.

You sat at a two-person table and so did he, but you both sat alone on the sides of the table that caused the two of you to see each other whenever either of you lifted your head. You raised your eyes for one more peek and saw him working away, furiously scribbling something down in his notebook before punching some numbers into his calculator again. So studious. So productive. _Ugh. And here I am, having done nothing this whole time..._ You stare at your school supplies you've laid out in front of you. Your own calculator sat next to your laptop which had some formulas up on the screen that you needed for the upcoming exams that would determine whether or not you'd get to apply to good universities. You sigh in dismay as you rest your head on the table, absentmindedly flipping through your exam study notebook to find all the pages empty. You never get distracted like this. What was it about this guy?

You narrowed your eyes and sat up straight, hitting your hand on the table to wake yourself up. You took a swig of the coffee you had ordered and took your pencil. _No more fooling around. I need to work._ You thought. _Okay._ You flipped through your workbook and looked at the first question, pen at the ready. You already knew which formula you needed to use for this one. It was pretty simple. Just need to punch some numbers. You reach for your calculator and press the "on" button...

Only to find it wasn't turning on.

You set your pen down and press it a few more times. Then a few more, but harder. You groan and put your head back on the table when you realize that it's been on since you got here a while ago, but since you hadn't been using it while you've spent this whole time staring at this dude, it's battery's drained. You have to bite your lip to fight back tears. You shuffle your feet to keep yourself doing _something._ You squeeze your fist around your mechanical pencil, digging the tip into your hand. You're so disappointed in yourself. You don't even notice that you're bleeding from the pressure of your pencil.

"Hey," you wipe a tear away to look up and see the boy from the table across from you sitting down at the empty chair at your table. He leans back in the chair, his hands behind his head. In different circumstances you'd be ecstatic at the chance to talk to a cute guy but this wasn't really great timing. You blink tears out of your eyes in preparation for a response, but before you do he sets his calculator in front of you. "It's really a drag when your calculator dies on you, huh?"

Despite his act of kindness he speaks in a nonchalant manner, as if he didn't have a care in the world. He takes your calculator and begins messing around with it, "Thank you..." you whisper, mustering all of your emotional strength to feign a polite smile.

"Your batteries kind of suck. Where did you get these?" He asked, examining the batteries he just pulled out of your calculator.

"They came with it," you say, punching the numbers into his calculator.

"You really need better ones. You should come with me after this. I'll take you to the convenience store and show you the better ones."

As he speaks, you flip the page over in your workbook to reveal the answer. Correct. You smile, but you don't know if it's for getting the correct answer or because this cute guy actually decided to help you out.

* * *

** Sai **

You sit perched on a tree, legs hanging down and swinging around like a kid. The scenery in Konoha is so pretty. You never cease to be amazed by it. You had many friends to be spending your Friday afternoon with but you really liked to be somewhere quieter for a change sometimes, away from the bustle of the heart of Konoha where your friends preferred to spend most of their time. Besides, nobody could _pay_ you to miss the sunset from up here, especially during the spring when the buds on the tree blossomed into beautiful Sakura blossoms. You thought about your friend Sakura as you observed the flowers. A fitting name. A pretty flower for a pretty girl. You weren't nearly as extraordinary as her or interesting as her. Even with the number of friends you have and their stronger personalities, you still were the kind who liked to take a back seat on life every once in a while. That quieter quality of you wasn't really appealing to many boys, though, and you can't begin to count the number of times Sakura and Ino have stolen potential boyfriends from you back in your school days. You were quietly bitter about it but didn't say too much about it then, but thinking about it now was just so silly to you. You looked up to see the sunset, smiling softly as you reminisced and sighing with awe as the sun hide behind a cloud and crepuscular rays pierced the orange sky.

"Perfect," you heard a voice from below you say. That's funny. You don't remember seeing anyone else up here. You could've sworn you were the only one who hung around this place and you've been coming here for years. Not even Sakura and Ino know about it. It's your quiet place. You duck your head under a branch to look at the stranger. A boy who appears to be your age sits on a nearby boulder, brush in hand, painting. He smiles at you sweetly and you can't help but smile back and laugh a little.

"What is?" You ask him, the ghost of a smile still on your lips as you speak. His eyes almost seem to sparkle in the light of the sunset. His pale skin is bathed in oranges and yellows. What a beautiful scene, something you'd swear could only come out of a movie. It's no wonder this area caught his eye too. Any artist would be stupid to not take the opportunity to paint this.

"The sky, the trees, the flowers, the sun..." he lists, gazing at the scene, clearly as enchanted as you are. He spoke like he was constantly in a daze. He looks at you, that same sparkle in his eyes. "You are also quite lovely." He flashed that sweet smile again.

Your cheeks went hot, taken aback. How can someone be so forward and yet so innocently charming? From experience you had known that boys who tended to be more straightforward also tended to lean towards the unkinder end of the spectrum, but this boy was something else. "Thank you..." you barely whispered. He stood from his place and gathered his things, smiling at you yet again.

"I hope that I can meet you here again," he nodded curtly, that same smile on his face as he left. You watched him leave and looked back to where he sat, a piece of paper where he once was, most likely a page from his sketchbook. Curiosity got the better of you as you climbed down from the tree. You knew it probably wasn't the nicest thing to look at someone's work without permission, but you'd think that he would want his work back. It was the painting of you against the sunset, sitting in the tree. You took one look at it and the only thing you could think: _woah._ You smile. It was almost as if he wanted you to see it.

* * *

**A/N:** I haven't been on the fanfiction scene since 2015 so this is kinda wild for me, but I was reading this particular [collection of scenarios](https://www.quotev.com/story/6387155/Naruto-Boyfriend-Scenarios)and I just kind of fell in love with it, it's just too bad that the author's no longer active so... I figured why not try it out myself? I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, feel free to let me know if you have any requests for scenarios + characters please let me know. Also I might be taking a liiiittle bit of inspiration from their fic (It's really good. You have to read it!!!). Okay, that's all for now, until next chapter

\- Holiday


	2. Realizing His Feelings

~ HIS POV ~

* * *

** Uzumaki Naruto **

I've never been one to be on time for everything and yet... For the past few weeks I've _actually_ been committing to a commute routine. 5:00 PM on the dot every weekday on the train. I didn't really get why. Everyone's been noticing it and I just have no answers. Even Sasuke's been giving me weird expressions every time I announce that I've got to leave by 4:45 so I can get to the station by 4:55 with 5 minutes to spare to buy my ticket and make my way to the platform. _Why am I doing this?_

"Hi Naruto!" (Y/N) greeted me as I stepped onto the train. My body released a sigh of relief - _why???_ my mind cried out. It was like I was battling two different parts of me at once - my body was doing one thing while my mind was just wondering _why_.

"Hey (Y/N)" I smiled, walking up to "our pole". It was the pole where I had met her and we've been standing at the same one every train ride since we've met, even when seats are available. I looked over at her. Huh. She's not wearing her scarf. Isn't she-

She shivered, pulling up the collar of her sweater over her nose in an attempt to cover up her neck. Another shiver told me that it didn't really help at all. Should I ask her if she's cold? No, no of course not. Knowing her she'd tell me she was fine. I took my scarf off, wrapping it around her neck, "here," I said, "you're cold."

"Thanks," she smiled - a tiny smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. She buried her face into the scarf, closing her eyes and sighing. My heart started beating like crazy. There my body goes again. _Craaaaap._ I didn't even answer. I just watched as she wrapped her hands around the end of the scarf to warm them up, breathing into them and rubbing them together.

The train started to move and this time it was my turn to be caught off balance. Luckily I managed to grab the pole just in time before I fell over - but instead of my hand meeting the cold metal surface of the pole, my hands met something warm... And soft...

I turned my head to see that I was holding (Y/N)'s hand. My heart rate continued to increase and I even started tripping over my words, "Oh! I! Ahahah- I didn't! You-"

But she just smiled that little smile as the train came to a stop at the next station, released her hand from under mine and got off the train.

I think I suddenly realized why my body was freaking out.

* * *

** Uchiha Sasuke **

Itachi nagged me in the car all the way to the train station.

"Sasuke," he said, his eyes fixed on the road as he spoke, "you're jumping through an awful lot of hoops to see this (Y/N) girl. Do you know why?"

"Hn." I responded, and he shook his head and smiled.

"Sometimes I forget how young you are," Itachi laughed to himself, "with you acting so mature all of the time, even to your older brother. Even aging has to be a challenge for you, does it?"

He didn't need to look over at me for him to know that I had shrugged in response. He sighed, relaxing his grip on the wheel as he pulled over in front of the station. Such stupid questions. What did he want from me? Geez. I opened the door to feel a cold autumn breeze blow by. I really should've brought a jacket or something.

"Itachi, do you-" before I could finish he tossed me his jacket.

"I won't be needing it anyway. I'll see you at home," he smiled, driving away. I made my way to the ticket station. Itachi can be a real bother sometimes, especially when it came to girls. But (Y/N) was different. She was calm. Nothing like the girls who would annoyingly fawn over me in school.

Even on the train my mind couldn't let go of Itachi's question. God, that annoying man. Always trying to get all up in my business. I watched trees zip by through the windows until the train came to a stop. I hear a _ding_ on my phone:

_(Y/N): I'm at the platform, ur already on the train right? I'll see u there_

The train doors opened and a blast of autumn wind blew in, bringing a few leaves with it. Passengers shuffled onto the train, and (Y/N) came pushing through, only...

"Yeah, don't ask," she muttered, fiddling with the sleeve of her sweater. It was huge. There was no way in hell that was her sweater, "it was just kind of cold today and I hadn't gotten my own warmer stuff out from storage so it's my dad's..." She turned a shade of red as I looked at her. Her hands were practically swallowed up in the sleeves of the sweater, her fingers poking out from the holes. That sweater was practically _swallowing_ her it was so big.

She slumped into the seat next to me, continuing to mess around with the sleeves of her sweater. My pesky brain continued to pester me as I looked down at the sleeves of my own sweater, then back at her and wondered... What it would look like if...

I felt my cheeks go hot.

That never happens.

* * *

** Inuzuka Kiba **

Akamaru always took a liking to the people I introduced him to, but never like this.

(Y/N) and I had just spent a long day at the dog park messing around with Akamaru. She’s been spoiling him rotten, actually, always buying him treats for him to snack on. I’ve got to hand it to her he’s a big dog, and having someone else to stock up on food is super helpful. Nonetheless, Akamaru’s become, like, her baby... Her big... Hairy... Slobbery baby... I asked her why she never got a dog, apparently her parents were allergic. Thank God she isn’t.

I laughed at the idea of (Y/N) sneezing up a storm around Akamaru. Then my face fell. If it wasn’t for Akamaru I never would’ve met her. I laughed again. Akamaru really is the best wingman in that case, huh? Sitting cross-legged, I rested my head on my hand. I wonder what other ladies I can pick up with Akamaru’s help? We’d be, like, the ultimate bachelor team. Awesome.

I watched as (Y/N) lay on the grass, resting on Akamaru’s body. She nuzzled her face into his fur, a tiny smile on her lips.

“Yes, of course,” she mumbled. _Huh? She’s awake?_

“(Y/N)?” I ask, leaning in front of her face. She didn’t respond. _Ah, sleep-talker._ I can’t help but smile watching her sleep-talk. She’s never fallen asleep in my presence before, so I had no idea. It was kind of... C _ute._ I shifted my seated position in the grass so the sun would shine on her face, warming her up, which she clearly seemed to appreciate as her smile only grew. Akamaru seemed to appreciate the warmth as well, letting out a great big yawn, rolling (Y/N) over. She yawns as well, shifting in her sleep and settling back to rest on Akamaru’s torso. 

“Kiba...” she whispered, laughing in her sleep. I felt my heart skip a beat. _Wh-what?_

“(Y/N)...” I brought a hand down to cup her cheek. I couldn’t help myself. She nuzzled her face into my hand, whispering my name again.

“Kiba...”

My cheeks flared up.

_Oh._

* * *

** Sabaku no Gaara **

“Gaara, come on,” (Y/N) laughed, “you’ve been wrapped up in that towel all day, you haven’t even gotten in the water!” She kicked some water towards me and ran back to the shore.

“No, just enjoy yourself. Look,” I gestured to Temari who was splashing water at Kankuro. It’s amazing how (Y/N) got along so well with the two of them . I could barely manage to bear them as we grew older. It was mostly just the differences in personality. They just had much stronger personalities than me, so I was always the quiet one.

“Don’t be such a kill joy, Gaara. Live a little-“ she stopped in her tracks as she neared me, “what are you doing?” She tilted her head, her bubbly attitude replaced with one of curiosity. I shrugged, poking around at the little sand castle I built, looking up at her.

"I got bored..." I said.

"Well that's because you don't want to get off your butt and have a bit of fun!" She took my hands, pulling me to the sea, and I felt my heart... Twitch? I put my hand over it and squeezed just to ensure myself that it was still there and functioning.

"No, it's okay, really, I'm not all that outgoing anyway-" I kept my center of gravity closer to the ground, making her struggle to pull me up. When I had finished talking she stopped, her grip on my hands softening as a certain tenderness seeped into her tone of voice.

"Gaara," she said, warm eyes looking into mine. The twitch in my heart returned, and as soon as those eyes locked with mine it felt like the twitches were sparks and what I felt now was a warm fire. Warmth... Just _warmth_ was consuming me, "you don't have to be outgoing to be happy."

I was stunned into a silence as I let her lift me up, following her into the sea. She let my hands go and waded into the water, already knee deep before she turned around to see if I had followed her. That warm and inviting smile... Those kind eyes... They coaxed me to the sea. I stood there at the shoreline, the water lapping at my toes as I pondered whether or not I should take a step into the sea.

_"You don't have to be outgoing to be happy"_

Looking into her eyes... I had to agree.

* * *

** Hatake Kakashi **

Something was... Off.

I had read the "Icha Icha" series many times over, and, though I'd never tell anyone, I had a massive crush on the main love interest of the story. I had always envisioned her just as she was written every time, but for some reason she's began to... Change... She suddenly became a woman with (H/C) hair and (E/C) eyes, and the image was foreign yet familiar to me for some odd reason. _Where was this change coming from?_

I continued walking down the streets, book in hand, but for the first time ever my mind was somewhere else, somewhere beyond the books that I had spent the past few years invested in. I rake through my mind to find a possible answer, but to no avail. How odd.

"Finally," a voice called, "I've been here for an hour and a half."

"You get used to it," I responded absentmindedly, my eyes still trained on the words in my book but my mind staying in the exact place it has been for the whole commute to the mall. I couldn't help but scratch my head in confusion. I could always figure everything out, and yet the one thing that I'm struggling to figure out is something about myself. 

"You're lucky that I already am, or I would've left by now. I can see why you're so infamous when it comes to making plans now," (Y/N) mumbled. I shrugged, looking up from my book and that's when it clicked.

_Oh._

My face burned as I realized that the character in my book had a sudden striking resemblance with someone that I knew in my own life... A character in an _adult book of all books_...

"K-Kakashi? Are you alright? You look sick," (Y/N) held her hand up to my forehead like a mother would to her child, checking for a fever. It only made things worse. As the crushing weight of the realization hit me, here she was touching my face. Thank God for this mask or I'd be a mess.

"Oh boy, it's hot in here, huh? Let's - let's go inside."

* * *

** Nara Shikamaru **

Everything in my life had been planned out... Until this. I had always been a firm believer in head over heart, and my feelings rarely got in the way of anything. And yet...

"Aaagh!" she cried, throwing her hands up in an exasperated fit. Her pens clattered to the floor and she hit her head on the library desk with a _thunk_. 

"Shhh!" a librarian called from a shelf behind you two.

"Sorry," I replied, turning back to (Y/N). "Another unsolvable problem?"

"Yeah." she sighed, blowing a puff of air from her lips sending a pen rolling off the end of the desk. I've been here helping (Y/N) out with her studying for the past few weeks in anticipation for her big exam day. She's been so nervous and her nerves get the better of her most of the time. When she's in the zone she's honestly brilliant, but she just can't seem to see it so I've been doing my best to show her.

"Nothing's unsolvable," I told her, picking a pen up from the floor. _Ah, she just messed up putting the numbers in her calculator._ I laughed just a little to spare her self-esteem, shaking my head as I punched the numbers into her calculator, "See? You're right, you just put the numbers in wrong." She frowned, burying her head in her arms. She started drumming her fingers on the desk, sucking her lips in. I knew it was best just to sit there quietly lest I wanted to set her off even more. She was like a piece of tempered glass: be a little too harsh and she'll break, but she was resilient nonetheless. I knew that. Again, she didn't. _Oh Y/N. What am I gonna do about you..._

"Shikamaru?" she asked, looking up at me . _Crap. Those eyes. Those **eyes.** _I couldn't be caught off guard, I was never off-guard. _God, what's happening to me?_

"Mm?" I did my best to keep my composure.

"Why is everything always so easy for you..." she sighed again, pouting. I felt a twinge in my chest. No. Everything wasn't easy for me.

"Tch, everything's not easy-"

"Oh yeah? When was the last time something was difficult for you. Even just a little." She frowned. Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked up at me with those - _fuck, those eyes._

_When was the last time something was difficult for me? Right now is definitely one of those times. Why am I so afraid to talk to her all of a sudden? Do I even have an answer to give her? Man, this is such a drag..._

* * *

** Sai **

“Oh hey, Sai, someone’s at the door,” Naruto walked into the room, gesturing to the door. Oh? A visitor? But I wasn’t expecting anybody but Naruto today.

“Sai?” (Y//N) peeked her head through my open door. Oh no.

“No, no, Y/N, don’t come in...” I called after her. Oh no... It’s starting again. But why only when (Y/N) was around, why?

I’ve been feeling sick to my stomach for the past few weeks: i’ve just got a gut wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach, lightheadedness, and heart palpitations, like someone had injected adrenaline right into my body. What kind of sensation is this? And only when (Y/N) is around, why?

“Huh? How come?” She asked. Naruto gave me a look that indicated the same confusion that was in (Y/N)’s voice, “are you alright?”

No, no I most certainly wasn’t alright, I just haven’t been able to diagnose it. Naruto watched as I ran to my bookshelf, furiously flipping through all the medical books that I owned, “No, (Y/N), you might catch it from me, and I don’t want you to feel unwell.”

“Okay Sai that’s it, i’m coming in,” I heard the door shut, and I grabbed an armful of books and ducked behind a couch. Naruto stayed right where he was, as confused as ever. 

“Sai, are you okay...?” Naruto asked, leaning behind the couch to look at me like I was some sort of alien. I continued to flip through my books. _Fever... No... Influenza? No... Appendicitis? No...._

“I’ve feel so strange every time I see (Y/N), I just haven’t worked up the courage to see the doctor, I must have an idea of possible diagnoses before I go but I haven’t found one yet...” I narrowed my eyes and flipped to the next page. Nothing, “please, just ward her off, I would hate for her to catch it.”

“But you were fine until (Y/N) started knocking -“ he stopped himself mid sentence, and he put on a smug grin, like a scheming child who had just hatched a plan to find out if the tooth fairy was real or not, “Oooooooh...” he sang. I sprang up - _he knows?_

“What? What is it, Naruto?”

Naruto pulled a book from the bookshelf, bending down to hand it to me. “I think,” he flipped the pages of the book until he found the one he was looking for, “somebody’s in love...”

I stared at the page. _Yes. I suppose this is it..._

“Sai?” (Y/N) stood next to Naruto, watching me with puzzled eyes. 

_It definitely is._

* * *

**A/N:** Hello all! I'm so glad to see people are reading this it's kind of crazy haha... Thank you for those who have liked this story! I hope you continue to like the chapters I'll be posting. These are a lot of fun! I hope you're enjoying them too. Suggestions/requests are open if you want to leave one for me :) Will gladly take them. Okie dokie thanks for reading this chapter!

\- Holiday


	3. First Kiss

**Uzumaki Naruto**

It was cold. Again. When was this winter ever going to go over? It seems like it’s been freezing for months. 

It’s been maybe 3 months since you’ve met Naruto and now the world is entering the peak of the cold season. Snow fell against the sunset outside the train window as you and Naruto waited for the train doors to open. He was walking you home today after much protest from you. He said it was getting dark and didn’t want you to walk home alone in the dark. You said you were fine. He was... pretty persistent. 

“Again, Naruto, I’m okay, really,” you assured him, but those blue eyes looking back into yours made you second-guess yourself. In his eyes you saw security, you saw stability.

“Nah,” he grinned one of his signature grins, stepping off the train and onto the platform with you. You decided not to argue. You’ve come to learn that it’s difficult to change his mind. Naruto wants what Naruto wants. You smile a little to yourself as the two of you walk home, boots crunching in the snow.

The two of you walk in silence, and you quicken the pace to walk in front of you. You were tired, and didn’t have much to say today. You just wanted to go home, but you were surprised Naruto wasn’t doing anything about the silence. He’s almost always-

_Biff!_

You feel a snowball crunch against your sweater. You stop in your tracks and turn to see Naruto holding another snowball at the ready. You laugh.

“Hey, what was that for?”

“I told you, it gets dangerous at night,” he tosses the snowball up and down, “i’m drilling you.”

You can’t help but laugh, “I think I can defend myself against some snowballers, Naruto.” 

“Oh yeah? Because you don’t seem to be doing anything about it right now.”

You let out a little _humph_ and a cloud of steam escapes from your lips as you do. You bend down to make a snowball, and throw it back at him. It hits his giant orange sweater and leaves flecks of snow on his face. Naruto smirks, happy that you’ve engaged in his challenge, and throws another snowball at you, but this time you’re alert, ducking behind a tree off the sidewalk path. 

“No fair! You get cover!” He complains teasingly, “we settle this on the battlefield. Come on!”

And the two of you begin throwing a flurry of snowballs, one after the other until - 

Crap. You’ve used up all of your pre-made snowballs. Naruto throws his next snowball which throws you off balance, sending you crashing into a pile of snow behind you which cushions your fall. He walks over to you as you lie in the snow pile, standing over you.

“Is this a surrender?” He smiles smugly, that same childish mischief glittering in his eyes as he awaits your answer.

“It’s a cease fire.” But Naruto is straddling you now, and his face inches closer and closer. You don’t say a word as his face gets so close you can feel the warmth of his ragged breath on your face, fatigued from your snowball fight, warming up your cheeks. But maybe it wasn’t his breath alone that was warming them up so much. 

A snowflake floats down from the sky and lands on your lips, as if even nature was coaxing Naruto to close the space between the two of your lips. The snowflake melts away as he presses his forehead to yours, his eyes fixed on your lips as he cups your warm cheek in his hand, his thumb brushing your lips gently and you just stared back into those eyes, bluer than the sea, bluer than the sky.

“(Y/N)...” he whispers, lowering his face even more until your lips are brushing his. The gap was closing so, so slowly, almost agonizingly slowly.

“Naruto-“ you breathed, but he cut you off, firmly pressing his lips to yours. You returned the kiss, breathless, gasping in surprise. You feel his lips stretch into a smile as he kisses you, a sweet, sweet kiss that melts you away.

A surrender. Definitely a surrender.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

It's the 10th anniversary of the Konoha arcade, and so so tokens today were half off. Naturally you had to challenge Sasuke to a rematch of that game you two played the day you met. Thankfully, your friend and her boyfriend wasn't coming this time, but with or without them you were definitely looking forward to a day with Sasuke. He was looking forward to it to, but, as always, you didn't know that. Could you ever read him?

"You're late," Sasuke said, his eyes closed, yawning as he leaned against the window of the arcade. The blinking lights of the games indoors caused his eyes to flash like police sirens as he opened them, reflecting flashing blues and reds. _Danger._ His eyes said, but you were just drawn to him like a moth to the flame, unafraid of the fire. There was a soft side to him, you were sure of it. Somewhere.

"They were doing some construction on the road so," you began to explain yourself, but he turned to open the arcade door and you knew he probably wasn't listening. You shrugged, walking inside.

You stuck your token into the machine, and the car revved up just like it did 3 months ago. _READY PLAYER 2!_ The machine blared as Sasuke followed suit.

"Prepare to lose," he said flatly, throwing that same challenging expression to you. Little did he know that you've been coming here. Training for this fateful day. You just laughed.

"Don't be so confident, Sasuke."

_GO!_

You maneuvered deftly through the course, picking up dropped items as you went and using them to your advantage. You knew this particular course inside out, and you had familiarized yourself with the items you could use to take down your competitors. Soon you hit the finish line. 1 lap out of 3. You tightened your group on the wheel and grinned as you realized how far behind Sasuke was.

"Keep up, Sasuke," you smirked in his direction. He kept his focus on his own screen, trying desperately to catch up with you, but he had to admit he liked seeing you be so competitive.

"As if I'd let myself get beat by a little girl," he grunted, even more determined than ever to catch up. "I don't lose." A crowd started forming around the two of you, beginning with bored children who had run out of tokens looking for something interesting to watch. Then some teenagers slowly started to congregate around the two of you, egging the competition on. You were more fired up than ever now that you two had an audience, and you knew they were about to watch the proud Sasuke get beat for once and for all.

2/3 laps. Final stretch. You gasped in shock as you saw Sasuke's car pull up in front of you. "Oh no you don't," you narrowed your eyes, hitting the horn on the steering wheel to release your item which propelled you in front of Sasuke's car. You turned to look at him and saw and expression of surprise, which would have shocked you too if you weren't so hellbent on winning this thing. You could see the finish line drawing nearer, and your grip on the wheel tightened. You knew what you had to do. You floored it.

_PLAYER 1 WINS!_ You jumped up with joy, "I did it! Holy shit!" The crowd cheered and applauded for you, congratulating you on your win. You turned to your opponent, ready to gloat in his face and rub it in as much as humanly possible. You just beat Sasuke Uchiha, after all. "What do you have to say to that, Uchiha?" You put your hands on your hips and bent down to get right up in his face as you grinned with glee. He turned to you and grunted.

"Hn," he huffed. He was displeased that he had to lose in front of all these people, too proud to admit defeat. He got up from his car as the crowd dispersed, and said nothing more as he took you by the hand.

"What, you're gonna try and win at something else, huh? Can't stand the fact that I won, huh?" You relished in your victory, until you realized Sasuke had backed you into a corner between the back wall and a vacant machine. There was nobody around, not this far back into the arcade. He had one hand propping himself up on the wall behind you. You fell silent.

"I said I don't lose," Sasuke smirked before kissing you hard and rough. His lips were warm and firm as he kissed you, and you gasped as he bit your lip.

"S-Sasuke," you breathed, and he grunted in response before kissing you again, his free hand finding its way to your waist and his tongue finding its way into your mouth.

_"I said I don't lose."_

You couldn't argue with that.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

Gaara quickly discovered that the sea was one of your favorite places to be, so of course he always recommended to be there whenever the two of you made plans. You weren't complaining. He was right, you loved the sea, though Gaara spent most of his time on the sand. He sat on the seashore, wrapped up in his beach towel, and watched you splash around in the sea, reluctant to follow though he did on occasion. Sometimes you would find cool little trinkets in the water, running to him excitedly like a child.

"Gaara! Look!" You'd beam as you opened your palm to show him your little collection of sea glass. You held one up to his eye, "it's the same color as your eyes," you giggled. He smiled. To anyone else his smiles were nothing extraordinary, never very telling. Just a simple little smile, but he liked seeing you so happy, and that was enough to make him smile.

Gaara sorted through your finds as he watched you splash around in the water and fit them into his sand castle. He watched you burst into fits of laughter as a wave swept you off your feet. Your innocence was so charming - so enchanting - to him. He thought it was almost poetic how the sea, of all places, was your favorite. He was the stable sand of the earth while you were the ever-changing tide, bubbling with sea foam stealing bits of the earthy sand to transform them into beautiful things. Looking up at you he couldn't help but believe that he was turning into something beautiful, too.

You were thoroughly tired out, and made your way out of the sea to watch Gaara build his sand castles. "Oh! You put my sea glass on the castle!" You smiled, "it's so pretty."

The sun caused the sea glass to reflect colored light around the castle Gaara had built. You couldn't help but look in awe. Gaara was in awe too, but he wasn't looking at the castle. You sat next to him, and a sea breeze blew over. You shivered a little, cold from the temperature difference between the colder air and the warm water. Gaara took note of this, taking his beach towel off and wrapping it around you to warm you up. Gaara had never taken his towel off before, and this was the first time you had seen him in swimming attire, shirtless. You couldn't help but stare at his body, muscles and all.

In your silence he reached his hand up to hold your face, finally working up the courage after months of suppressing his feelings for you out of fear. You made him feel like he could be brave. You put a hand over the one he had cupping your cheek.

"(Y/N)" he spoke, so, so softly, saying your name as if he was asking for permission. Your eyes granted that permission, as he leaned in and planted the softest kiss on your lips, so soft he had barely brushed your lips. He kissed you again, a little firmer, and again, and again, until you were sitting in his lap, legs wrapped around his body, your hands in his red hair.

He closed his eyes to savor the moment. Your lips tasted of sea salt.

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

“That movie was pretty good,” you commented, tossing your empty popcorn bucket into the trash. Of course, like any normal person, you ate it all before the movie even started. The real snacks were the ones Kakashi managed to sneak inside. Where did he even find a place to put all of them? Then you recall that he always manages to have a book on him, so you weren’t really surprised anymore. You still laughed to yourself at the thought of how he managed to sneak all of your favorite snacks in for you without getting caught by the guy checking bags at the front. It was like he was some sort of ninja or something.

“Yeah, it was alright,” he said as nonchalantly as ever. Kakashi had feelings. You knew that. He just doesn’t show them very often. He talks like he’s in a trance, like his mind is wandering off, his eyes half lidded. If you could just see what was under his mask maybe you could read him better, but he still hasn’t taken it off. Of course, you haven’t asked yet. You were thinking about it for sure, though.

Come to think of it - you _really haven’t_ seen him without his mask on. Isn’t that kind of sad? But also _how?_ He’s eaten with you before... You then remember that you’re always the one eating, not him. You look at your right hand. You were carrying the last 2 pieces of chocolate. Perfect.

“Kakashi?”

“Mm?”

“You want a chocolate?” You offered one to him, and he took it from you gratefully.

“Thanks,” he smiled. Or at least you’re pretty sure he did. His eyes were smiling but that damn mask... It’s fine. You were about to watch him eat, he’ll have to take it off to eat it... Right?

You watch Kakashi intently as he lifts his hand to his mask, lifting it up to remove it -

“Oh hey, they’re making a new Icha Icha movie?” He stopped, pointing at a poster on the wall. Your breath hitched.

“What? Where? Really?” You searched the hallway for the poster in question, only to realize that there was no poster (and, sadly, no movie). You turn back to Kakashi and realize in disappointment that he had already eaten the chocolate when you weren’t looking. Damn. He’s tricky. You frowned.

“(Y/N)? Something wrong?” Kakashi asked. He tilted his head like a confused puppy. You sighed.

“Kakashi, why have I never seen your face before?” You ask, “do you not trust me or something?” You stare at the ground as the two of you make your way into the parking lot to find Kakashi’s car. 

“Is it bothering you that much?” Kakashi laughed, but his tone quickly changed when he noticed you didn’t reciprocate his joking tone. There was silence that you broke with a nervous chuckle. _Forget about it._ You thought. Kakashi was stubborn. There was no point in trying to get him to take his mask off.

“No,” you laughed, “it’s just - it’s like - I don’t know. You’re like a superhero or something. It’s like you’re hiding a part of yourself from me.” You sighed sadly, “I thought you trusted me...”

You arrived at his car, sighing as you were about to cross over to the passenger side. As you reached down to grab the handle Kakashi took your hand, bringing it up to his mask. He moved your hands to pull it down, revealing his face. He leaned in so your foreheads were touching before sweetly kissing you on the lips. You returned his kiss and his tongue ran along your lower lip, asking for entrance, which you granted. His kisses were sweet but firm, hungry but controlled. You pulled away to look at his face in all it’s glory.

“My hero.”

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

Kiba’s never quiet. He’s always loud and jumping around and messing around with Akamaru, but something was different today. He was just... Quiet. You were sure it was because his mom had taken Akamaru to the vet for his routine checkup. He was probably lonely. The two of you sat under the tree you always sat at in the park, a nice, big shady tree. The only one that could provide shade big enough to satisfy Akamaru, honestly.

You look over at Kiba to see him scratching away at his hands. In many ways he resembles a dog, but in a cute kind of way. The way he acts, his mannerisms, little quirks in his behavior. Scratching when he was nervous was one of the ways his love for canines had made its way into Kiba’s personality. 

“Kiba,” you reassure him, leaning in closer to him to close the awkward space between you two, “it’ll be okay, Akamaru’s a big boy, I think he can handle the vet.”

He looks over at you with what you can only describe as puppy dog eyes for a few seconds, quickly turning back to his hands for more scratching, “no, no it’s not that...”

As you watch him scratch away you realize this is the first time you’ve been alone with Kiba without Akamaru around. In all of the few months you’ve known Kiba Akamaru has been by his side, and now Akamaru was absent and it felt different. 

“Kiba?” He continues to scratch away. His hands are turning red, “Kiba,” you say again, more persistent in your tone. You used to pick at your fingernails when you got nervous. He was going to rip up his skin. You take his hand, “ _Kiba_.” 

He looks back up at you in surprise, his hands... Shaking? This was very unlike the Kiba you knew, who almost always had his flirt on, teasing you and poking fun at you whenever possible.

“Kiba, tell me what’s wrong,” you plead. This isn’t like him. But he just looks at you and back down at his hand in yours. His hand creeps up your arm and sets itself on your back as he pulls you closer, not breaking his gaze. Your legs are over his now as you sit facing him, and you rest your head on his shoulder, looking up at him as he turns away again. You feel so bad for him. He really can’t go without Akamaru, huh?

“(Y/N)... Why did you whisper my name in your sleep the other day?”

Your cheeks went red and you were burning up. You lifted your head from his shoulder so he couldn’t feel it, but you know he did. He looked back at you to find you a stammering mess, “I- haha! I did? Did I? Oh that’s awkward-“

He interrupts you by lifting your chin up like the first tine he met you, his hand resting on your cheek, and gently pressing his lips to yours. You return the kiss and his smile grows as he kisses you again... And again... And again... 

As the two of you kissed more and more you could feel something light up inside of Kiba, that mischievous, smug attitude made its way back into his demeanor as the bothered Kiba you’d been sitting with just before melted away. You could feel the Kiba you knew in his kisses, which didn’t seem to be stopping and were getting steamier and steamier. You pulled away for just a moment to catch your breath.

“Kiba,” you whispered. This seemed to set him off. It drove him crazy, the way you said his name, and he let out a growl and pushed you up against the tree, opening his mouth as he kissed you so yours did too, sliding his tongue in. His kisses were hungry, like he was devouring you with each one. He pulls away.

“God, I love it when you say my name like that,” he growls in your ear, before attacking you with kisses again. You don’t say a word, you just marvel at each and every kiss.

You mentally note another place where Kiba’s animalistic nature can be seen. You can only imagine where else... 

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

(Note: In Japan rather than using check marks to indicate correct answers, circles are used. X’s indicate incorrect answers.)

You shake, red pen dancing over your workbook as you draw circle after circle after circle. _There’s no way I got all of these questions right_ , you think to yourself before drawing yet another circle. No- no something has to be wrong!

“There’s no way,” you mumble as you circle yet another question chewing on a pen, “I have to be marking these wrong. Maybe I should get my glasses out...”

“(Y/N) you’re already wearing your contacts. That won’t do anything. You’ll just blind yourself even more,” Shikamaru said from beside you, taking a sip of coffee. You sigh in frustration but concealed excitement as you continue making your way through the workbook. You shake your head. No, no something has to be wrong.

“No, I have to be doing it wrong,” you sigh, setting your pen down. You push the workbook over to Shikamaru, whose half lidded eyes gloss over the pages, “you do it.”

He shrugs, twirling your pen in his hands before starting from the beginning to check your answers. You drum your fingers on the table. It would be great if you got all those questions right, but it isn’t likely. Math was your worst subject. You never got things right in that class. 

“Hey,” Shikamaru slid the workbook back to you, “I checked it.”

You furiously flip through the workbook, scrutinizing mark after mark after mark until you make it to the end of the book and...

All circles. No X’s.

It’s a miracle. You did a whole workbook making no errors? That’s not possible, and yet it is. You bite your lips to stop them from quivering but you find your body shaking and tears spill from your eyes, but for the first time in math studying history they weren’t tears of sadness. They were tears of pride. You turn to Shikamaru.

“S-shikamaru I did it... I actually did it!” You grin from ear to ear, delighted. In your excitement you tackle Shikamaru with a hug, who accepts it, ruffling your hair with a hand as he drapes his arm over you to return it.

“Of course you did it, you’re a genius,” he smiled one of his little smiles. You look up at him and smile. That little smile drove him mad, but Shikamaru was too proud to show you that. But damn was he having some trouble holding it in today seeing you so happy.

He couldn’t help himself. He quickly lowered his face and gave you a peck on the lips. It was quick and sweet but just enough to catch you off guard. Suddenly you had completely forgotten about all of the work you just spent all that time doing as your fingers traced your lips, the ghost of his kiss lingering there. He turns his head to conceal the blush on his cheeks but you saw it just before you did, turning his head and returning the favor.

You didn’t dare open your eyes, but you could feel a real, genuine smile against your lips.

* * *

**Sai**

Ever since meeting Sai you had become his model. He wanted to draw you and, well, only you. Other girls in town would fawn over him and his work but he always politely declined in his own Sai way, insisting that you were the one he wanted to draw. It was a new reason every time, and the compliments flattered you but were sometimes on the edge of creepy... If it wasn’t for the fact that you knew who Sai was and knew exactly what to expect. You’ve gotten used to his quirks and have learned to love him exactly for who he is. Weird comments and all.

When he wasn’t drawing or painting his nose was stuck in a book. In this sense he took after his sensei Kakashi. You were just glad he didn’t read any of Kakashi’s books. You knew exactly what kind of books they were and if Sai ever got his hands on them you’d probably make use of some crowbar to pry them off his hands. Sai loved asking questions about the things he learned, and you weren’t about to answer any questions about... That. 

But Sai was just so cute to watch. Something about him reminded you of a child. He carried an innocence with him wherever he went, his eyes open to the world in pure wonder as if he was always experiencing it for the first time, like he had just woken up from a coma or had his eyes healed from blindness. Little did you know he looked at you the same way too. The way he looked at the world made you want to show it all to him. Something in you just wanted to offer everything to him, just to watch him ask questions and explore with the curiosity he always had. 

But he wasn’t necessarily ditzy, either. He was level-headed and rational, calculating and meticulous when needed. You saw this in his art and in the little ways he held his brush, the precise flick of his wrist to leave a stroke on the canvas, the way he would mix just the right ratio of color in his paints. 

You thought to yourself as he drew you again, watching you as you lay out on his couch, just thinking and hanging out. “What are you drawing today, Sai?”

“Mm.” He grunted. You couldn’t help but laugh a little. When he was working he was in his own world, and you couldn’t tear him away from it. You made your way over to Sai, who was seated on the couch, his face relaxed as he drew away. You peered over his shoulder.

Figure drawings of you were scribbled in on one side of the page, and on a fresh page...

Sai will never cease to amaze you. Just as he is stunned by the world he stuns you all the time. He was working on a detailed portrait of your face. There was a sense of delicateness there that you would have never associated with yourself, and yet there you were...

“Sai it’s...” you whispered breathlessly, “it’s beautiful.”

“Only because I chose the right model,” he stated matter-of-factly, smiling to himself as he continued. “Sit down next to me and let me get a better look at you, okay?”

You did as you were told, and he turned to face you. He studied the features of your face with intent before wiping one of his hands off and placing it on your cheek. You felt your cheeks warm up.

“What?” You laughed a little as he didn’t break his gaze. He didn’t respond, brushing a finger over your lips in a way that made a chill run down your spine. He watched your lips intently.

“May I do something?” He asks, moving in closer.

“Y-yeah, anything,” you respond, holding back the urge to shake as he held your face in his hands.

He closed the space between you two, planting a gentle kiss on your lips, a kiss that was just so... Sai. Cautious but excited, curious but courageous. He pulled away, leaving you breathless.

“Soft,” he noted, smiling before returning to his work.

* * *

 **A/N:** hello reader! I’m glad to see so many of you are enjoying this fic, i’m having a lot of fun writing it! Remember to leave a comment letting me know what you think or if you have any suggestions/requests :) oki doki bye!

\- Holiday


	4. The Question

**Uzumaki Naruto**

You've learned that Naruto liked to dive into anything he did. When he did anything he gave it his all. So you weren't surprised when he asked you to be his just after kissing you for the first time, but you definitely weren't complaining.

"Be mine," he whispered, "please..." He pulled away from the kiss, his forehead against yours. There was a pleading in his blue eyes. You never ceased to be amazed by the way they always seemed to sparkle in a brilliant blue like sapphires. He sat you up, guiding your body so you were sitting on top of him as he sat on his knees in the snow, his head not moving from its place on yours so he could keep his gaze fixed on you.

You held his face in your hands, your thumbs stroking his cheeks. So warm and so soft. He wrapped his arms around you, his embrace warm and firm. You felt safe here. He was safety. You've never felt this way with anybody before, and you knew... You only ever wanted to feel this way with him. He pulled you into another kiss like one from the movies, one that made time freeze and the world stop moving. The only thing that mattered was Naruto in front of you. The reflection of the snow in the night twinkled in his eyes as he pulled away. You stroked his face as you gave him your reply.

“I’m all yours,” you kissed his forehead. Then his nose. Then his cheeks and finally his lips. He grinned from ear to ear, his smile growing with each kiss. Perfect.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

As a child you always excitedly awaited the day that you would have the freedom to roam around Konoha. As soon as you grew up, though, you realized it would mean dealing with some people who were... Less than pleasant. This one particular guy has been on your tail since you got here to the mall. You just needed to find your way to the grocery store and run some errands. This guy, though, was starting to scare you to be completely honest. You were starting to second-guess running errands in the afternoon as the sun set. What if he followed you home?

“Hey, pretty girl,” he nudged you, “you doing anything tonight?”

You’ve learned that it was best not to humor them, but that just led him to think of other ways to get your attention, each advance less pleasant than the last.

“You’ve got one hot bod, hows about you come with me and show me what it can do?” You didn’t even need to look at him to get an idea of how he was looking at you. You shuddered in disgust. Thankfully all of his advances have been verbal and he’s had the decency not to cross the-

He put a hand on your back. That was the last straw. You were past pissed-off and were quickly moving into panic. Then out of the corner of your eye...

_Sasuke..._

You ran to him, tackling him in a hug. He was taken aback until you whispered in his ear, “he’s following me. Play along. _Please, Sasuke.”_ You turned your head to look at him and see if he had heard. He nodded as you released the hug, and interlaced his fingers with yours, squeezing them tightly. The man came up next to you again, sneering at Sasuke.

“This dude, he isn’t-“

“My boyfriend. I’m taken. I think i’ve made that clear in the way I’ve been avoiding your advances. If you would kindly leave us alone that would be great.” You said flatly. The man left with a “tsch”, turning to leave. You continued to walk with Sasuke.

_That was a close one. He was really starting to scare me..._

 _A_ s you recounted the uncomfortable encounter, you realized Sasuke was still holding your hand. _Does he realize that he left?_

“Sasuke,” you ask, “what... Are you doing?”

He just smirked and responded, “walking with my girlfriend.” You stared at him. _What?_ “Right?” He squeezed your hand, a gesture that asked the question for him. There was a warmth in his eyes that was foreign to you.

“...Right.”

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

It was so hot today that you could fry an egg out on the street. Jesus, how were you, Kiba and Akamaru supposed to play in the park, even with the tree shade. You threw shirt after shirt after shirt over your head and onto your bed. Everything just looked so _heavy_. Either that or you were 80% sure anybody would be able to take one look at you and notice how much you were sweating. God, you were gonna smell so bad...

You ensure you rolled your deodorant on _real good_ before finally settling on something to wear. Kiba was gonna be here any second. The doorbell rang and you knew exactly who it was without even waiting for their greeting through the door. You shoved your phone in your pocket and messed around with your hair as fast as you could. You woke up 10 minutes ago and had barely even _touched_ it, and your hair was pretty damn difficult to tame.

"(Y/N)! You gonna leave me out here in the heat or what?" You heard Kiba complain through the door. Outside Kiba sat down, back against your door. The heat was really draining everybody today.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming just give me a second!" You called, skidding through the hallways of your apartment. You trip over an open box, and skitter your way through the rest of the house, shoving your feet into the first pair of shoes you see and opening the door, "I'm here! I'm here! I'm-"

Kiba got up and turned to face you, "about time-" he stopped.

"What," you asked. The heat wave hit you. You immediately started sweating. You took his silence as an opportunity to mess with your hair again. You literally looked like you just rolled out of bed. Your hair was sticking out at some odd angles that you tried your best to pat down, to no avail. When you were done you looked back up at Kiba, who had a hand on the back of his neck. He sized you up, his eyes looking you up and down, and gave you a hearty wolf whistle. You rolled your eyes and laughed, stepping outside.

"Damn," he grinned, "my girlfriend is so hot." You raised an eyebrow.

"Girlfriend?" You asked, crossing your arms, "I don't remember you asking." He sauntered up to you proudly, reaching behind you to grab the doorknob and shut your door. He gave you a kiss on the cheek before turning around to head to the elevator.

"Didn't have to," he waved his hand, beckoning for you to follow, "not after what happened the other day." He flashed a dirty grin at you from over his shoulder as you recalled what had happened under the tree the other day.

All of a sudden you were glad that the heat was there for you to use as an excuse for all of the sweat.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

Gaara looked... Uneasy. He was furiously biting the straw on his drink, the paper melting from his spit as he chewed. You took a sip of yours, watching him with concern before saying,

“Gaara, something wrong?” He shook his head and avoided your gaze. He has barely looked at you since he picked you up from home. _What’s up with him?_ “Gaara, can you at least look at me before you brush off everything I say?” You sigh, taking another sip of your drink. He looked around and his eyes narrowed. You looked around too. Maybe one of his siblings was around? You knew how embarrassed he got when the two of you would hang out in front of his siblings.

“So many other boys around,” he muttered, “how will I know that one of them won’t steal you away...” You smiled, putting a hand over his in a comforting gesture. He looked up at you for the first time today with his sad teal eyes. You gave his hand a squeeze.

“Well people usually put a label to their relationships to make it official,” you explain, “with or without it i’d always choose you, though.” You smile warmly at him, which lifts his spirits. You can see the ghost of a smile in his eyes. He turns his hand around to hold yours and gives it a squeeze back.

“Okay (Y/N)... Will you... Will you be my girlfriend?” His voice shakes. It’s as if he’s anticipating rejection, but he knew you wouldn’t. The boy who thought he had been undeserving of love his whole life, and you were determined to show it to him.

“Yes, Gaara. Yes.”

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

There was a knock at your door. That's funny. You weren't expecting anyone today. It was probably some package that was being delivered that you forgot about. You groaned as you rolled over in bed. It was a Saturday and you were hoping to sleep in.

"Just five more minutes..." You grumbled, pulling a pillow over your head. But the knocking persisted after another 30 seconds. Another 30 seconds pass. More knocking. You figured this person wasn't going away so you might as well answer. You lumber through the hallways of your apartment like a zombie, arms dangling in front of you. Everything felt so heavy after waking up. You did a few stretches to loosen up before you opened the door.

To your surprise you saw Kakashi standing there outside your door, bouquet of flowers in hand. "My lady," he bowed courteously, holding the flowers out to you. _Kakashi,_ the guy who you met reading _Icha Icha novels_ , of all books, doing a gesture like _this_? You couldn't keep yourself from laughing incredulously as you took the bouquet of roses.

"Why Mr. Hatake," you laughed, playing along, "I didn't know you were such a gentleman." You bat your eyelashes playfully. This was so silly, like something out of an old romance novel. He pulled his mask down to reveal his face, taking one of your hands in his and kissing it. Your laughter didn't stop as he did so.

"I can be a gentleman," he said, his eyes looking you up and down, "when I want to be." He smirked and you realized you were in your pajamas so... No bra. You shifted the bouquet of flowers to cover yourself up. _Ah. Aaand he's back._

"What is this for?" you ask, running through all the reasons he could have done this. It wasn't a special occasion or anything.

“Miss (Y/L/N),” he bowed again, “will you do me the honors of becoming my girlfriend?” He looked up at you, a playful glimmer in his eyes. You laugh incredulously. This has got to be something straight out of a young girl’s dream of love. You jokingly curtsey in response.

“Mr. Hatake. It would be my pleasure to be your girlfriend.” You deliver your line perfectly. You burst into fits of laughter as you finish, and he swiftly pulls you close to him, dropping the formal charade. He tilts your chin up to look at him, pressing his lips to yours, smiling into the kiss.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

“So... you were saying?” You grinned at Shimamaru smugly. His face went red and his eyes narrowed as he tried to defend his pride, but you already knew what was on his mind. 

“Shut up, woman! I’m only doing this so formally because Naruto told me to!” He sputtered. You shook your head, giggling like a school girl, grinning from ear to ear.

“Or because you _liiiiiiiiike_ me,” you let that “like” stretch out nice and long, just to rub it in his face. You knew Shikamaru was never one to sacrifice his pride, and admitting his feelings outright was one of those things he had always planned to but never wanted to do. It was such a drag...

“Fine!” He threw his hands up in the air and they came down, one onto his face so he wouldn’t have to make eye contact with you. “(Y/N)... Will you be...”

“Nuh-uh, Shikamaru, you won’t get away from me that easy!” You yank his hand off from his face and tilt his chin down to look at you. You held his face in your hands so he couldn’t avoid your gaze. You had to savor the moment. As the two of you locked eyes and Shikamaru saw your face, he knew he’d be willing to push his pride aside to make you his. It was worth it. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Hmm let me think,” you pout, mimicking being in deep thought. He rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah sure, why not.”

Shikamaru relaxed, pulling you close to him. “Thank God.”

* * *

**Sai**

“Naruto will be here any minute now,” Sai smiled at you as you sat on the bench waiting. The two of you agreed to head out for ramen, and, of course, Naruto had to tag along.

“Okay, but if Naruto makes us pay for him we’re splitting it. We have no idea how many servings he’ll go through,” you sighed as you finished your statement. Sai laughed and nodded. His laugh was so warm and innocent. It drove you mad.

“Aright! I’m here!” Naruto called from down the street. You could see him approaching now, marching cheerily towards the both of you. “Let’s get some ramen!” He stopped to look at you, “ah, Sai, I see you’ve brought your girlfriend.”

“Yes, of course,” Sai smiled again with a curt nod.

“Your what?” You asked. You don’t remember him ever putting a label on you two.

“AHA! So you said it! She’s your girlfriend!” Naruto pointed at Sai accusingly, and Sai’s face went pale. Well, paler than it already was. He frantically started apologizing to you.

“Wait - no! I forgot there was a difference between girl friend and girlfriend! If that’s not what you want that’s not my intention!” Apology after apology after apology came from Sai, who was trying his best to salvage his little error, but you were just happy that he had just referred to you as his girlfriend...

“Even if it was,” you calm him down and take his hand, “I wouldn’t be upset.”

He looked at you with wide eyes, “so - so it’s okay? If you become my...” he trailed off, like he didn’t even want to say the word - like he was shy. You laugh. It’s as if he were a schoolboy dealing with his first love. Clumsy and awkward but you can’t help but love him. You pecked a kiss on his cheek to calm his nerves.

“Yes. It’s okay.”

Naruto gagged. “Get a room you two!”


	5. Sick Day

**Uzumaki Naruto**

Being sick was the worst. Worst part of it? The food. Nothing tasted like anything anymore all thanks to your stuffed up nose. You were so congested. _Ah, the simple pleasures of a normal nose that I couldn’t appreciate..._ You thought in dismay as you blew your nose for what must be the 300th time today.

Naruto waltzed into the room proudly carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of... Something. You couldn’t really smell it. You couldn’t really smell _anything._ You turned your head to face him. Your whole head felt heavy. It was probably the snot. You groaned. “Naruto... What’s that...”

“Never fear (Y/N), here in my hands is the solution to your problems,” he smiled proudly, setting the tray down on the coffee table in front of the couch. You tried to get up but it made your head spin. Your arms were so weak...

You held your arms out to him, an invitation for him to take them and help you into a seated position. He pulled you up, brushing your hair out of your face. “Poor baby,” he pouted playfully. You didn’t even have the energy to tease him back. Your eyes half lidded, he lifted a spoon to your lips. You took a sip.

_Woah. That was good._ You actually tasted it. Your eyes opened up fully for the first time in the past 2 days. In front of you sat a bowl of steaming hot ramen. You looked at Naruto in awe.

“You cooked this?” You asked, astounded. You didn’t think that Naruto was capable of cooking so much as a fried egg. He nodded proudly,

“An Uzumaki special!” He grinned, his chest puffed up proudly with his hands on the back of his head. You gratefully ate the whole bowl. It tasted _so good_. Naruto sat next to you, watching you intently. You gulped down the rest of the soup before setting it back down.

“Naruto, you-“ 

“I was kidding, actually,” Naruto laughed nervously. He rested his head on your shoulder. “It’s takeout from Ichiraku. I just reheated it and put it in one of your bowls. I just liked how happy you looked when you thought it was actually me.”

Thanks to the ramen you had the strength to laugh in reply.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

The world spun around you as you and Sasuke walked through the streets. There’s been a feverish burning in your head since yesterday but you didn’t want to give into the sickness, so you’ve just pushed it aside. Besides, you didn’t want to miss out on the plans you had with Sasuke today. You bit your lip to ground yourself and channeled all your energy into staying upright. He held your hand as you walked in silence, watching you with concern while you did so. Such concern from Sasuke was still foreign to you, so you never would have been able to suspect just how worried he was. 

“(Y/N)... I’m worried about you.” he turned to you, his grip on your hand softening into an unfamiliar tenderness. You turned your head to look at him, taken by surprise at his sudden warmth.

“N-no! I’m all good. Nothing to worry about here,” you feigned a smile, squeezing his hand for reassurance. Little did you know that anyone would have been able to read the pain in your expression from a mile away. He shook his head and sighed.

“If you say so.” He said flatly, walking on ahead. “We’re almost at the restaurant, just let me know if you’re feeling uneasy.”

“Won’t have to. I’m fine.” You reassured him. He shrugged. You really weren’t but he didn’t see a point in arguing with you. The two of you stood at the end of a crosswalk, waiting for the stoplight to turn green. It did, and you both made your way across. Only...

You felt a sudden drop in your energy, and crumped to the ground in the middle of the road. Sasuke grit his teeth as he noticed the stoplight turn red again, his eyes wide with worry.

“That’s it,” he scooped you up in his arms, carrying you the rest of the way across the street. “We’re going to your place, forget lunch, I’m cooking.”

Despite your lack of energy, you still found it in you to retort, “you, cook me lunch?” You raised an eyebrow.

“ _Really_? That’s what you’re going to say after fucking _collapsing_ on the street?” You decided it would be better not to address it.

“Sasuke,” you put your head against his chest to listen to his heartbeat. It was fast, thumping so hard his heart seemed to threaten to jump out of his chest. “Sasuke, you can put me down now.”

“No.” He said in a low voice. His grip on you tightened and he pulled you closer, drawing you to his chest. 

“Sasuke, why-“

“Why can’t you let me be _nice_ to you (Y/N)?” He raised his voice. “Why does being good to you have to be so hard...” his voice cracked, “you could have been run over. You’re sick. _Let me take care of you.”_

You watched in awe as you watched Sasuke’s cool façade drip away for a few rare moments and you realize how unfair you were being to him. Just because he was who he was didn’t mean he couldn’t be worried about you and kind like any other person. You put a hand to his cheek.

“Sasuke... I’m-“

“Don’t say anything.” He closed his eyes and kissed your forehead. “Just rest. I’m taking you home.”

You decide to say nothing as you doze off to the steady rhythm of his steps.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

The sun had long since set outside, and yet he was still here by your side. The stars outside twinkled and you watched wistfully from your bed, wishing you could be out there. Or maybe at least stand up. The only light in your room was from the lamp on your bedside table, illuminating your room in a dim warm light.

Gaara sat by your side, his hands clasped around one of yours, his thumbs stroking the back of your hand as the two of you looked out the window. He said nothing and you said nothing, save for the occasional sniff or cough. The two of you stayed hand in hand in silence. Many would regard silence as awkward, dangerous, telling of a weak relationship. But not for you and Gaara. The two of you took comfort in your silences. It was something that made Gaara so special: how even when saying nothing he still found ways to light up the flame in your chest that was your love for him, in little gestures and actions.

"Gaara," you whispered, the sound piercing the silence. "You should go home, Kankuro and Temari will be worried." He brought your hand to his face, lips brushing the back of your hand, shaking his head.

"No, I want to make sure you're okay," he said quietly.

"Gaara," you laughed weakly, "I'm okay. I'm not dying." This seemed to make him uneasy as his grip on your hand tightened and his breath hitched. You remembered what he had told you about his parents. A chill ran down your spine as you realized your mistake. "Gaara, I-"

"I know," he said, his eyes not moving from the window. He interlaced his fingers with yours. "I know."

You shifted over to be closer to his side, planting a kiss on his temple. He sighed and turned to look at you. His teal eyes pierced the darkness, locking with your (E/C) ones.

"If it's okay with you I'm staying here until you fall asleep. Okay?"

"Okay."

Gaara spent the rest of the night pointing out the constellations to you from outside your window, his hand in yours the entire time. He would squeeze it ever so slightly when he got to a constellation he found interesting, and would tell you the stories of each until your eyes began to close. As soon as he realized you were asleep he kissed your hand once more and planted a kiss on your forehead. Though you were asleep you cracked a little smile. Seeing your smile after the whole day of suffering, Gaara knew he wanted nothing more than to see you healthy and well all of the time.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

“(Y/N)?” Kiba gingerly poked his head through the open door. “I brought the stuff you wanted from the store...” He dropped a few bags on the ground, coming inside and locking the door behind him. “I didn’t bring Akamaru. Figured it would be a bad idea to bring him when you were sick. You know how gross he gets.” He carried the grocery bags into your bedroom, where you lay on your bed, hand over your forehead, eyes glazed over with boredom are you stared at the ceiling.

“Kiba?” You groaned, sitting upright. You wiped some drool from your chin, slapping yourself a few times to wake yourself up. “Oh good, good. Pass me the tissues, will you? And refill the box. It’s running out.” Kiba wandered aimlessly around the room for a bit in search for the tissue box. “It’s... it’s over by the cabinet.” You waved your hand lazily in the general direction of the tissue box. He handed them to you and dug around the grocery bags for refill tissues to keep himself busy. He made an awful lot of noise as he dug around the contents of the bags. You gratefully took the tissues to blow your nose, before letting out a sneeze.

_“Achoo!”_

Kiba froze. You sneezed again.

_“Achoo!”_

He slowly turned around to look at you, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. You blew your nose before responding to his dumbfounded expression.

“What,” you said, your voice all nasally from the congestion.

“Your sneeze...” Kiba said, “it’s...” he approached you and wrapped you in a tight hug, “it’s so _cute_.”

“Kiba, Kiba, Kiba i’m gonna-“ you wiggled your way out of his embrace to sneeze again. _“Achoo!”_

You flew into a sneezing fit, and Kiba sat there beside you, his hand on your back. When you were done you turned back to him.

“I’m out of tissues...” you raised the empty tissue box. He just kept on staring.

“Can I... Can I take a video of you sneezing?”

“ _Kiba.”_

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

“Kakashi, no you can’t come in,” you pleaded, pushing against the bathroom door. You clutched your stomach in preparation for the next time your body would give up on you and start regurgitating your breakfast. You moaned in pain, feeling your stomach gurgle. You closed the door but Kakashi found his way to the keys and was now trying to push his way into the bathroom.

“Why not?” He pushed again and you yelped, feeling yourself starting to give in to his strength. You can’t have Kakashi see you throw up. It isn’t pretty. You struggle to think up a response.

“I’m - uh... I’m changing.” You say.

“So you’re naked.”

“Yep,” you push against the door again, “butt naked.”

On the other side of the door Kakashi smiled under his mask. He shook his head. “(Y/N). I’m your boyfriend. That won’t work on me.” You sigh, smacking your forehead as you realize the stupidity of your excuse. “Come on, at least tell me why I can’t come in.”

You grumble. “I’m throwing up. It isn’t pretty.”

“Everything you do is pretty.” You raise an eyebrow, crossing your arms.

“Even my vomit?”

“Mhm.” You sigh and stop fighting. The door clicks and Kakashi walks into the bathroom. He looks down at you as you sit on the bathroom floor crouched over the toilet.

You open your mouth to say something to him but you start feeling sick. You put your head over the toilet and start to hurl. Kakashi rushes to your aid, holding your hair back as you threw up. He rubs little circles on your back with his palm as you throw up to put you at ease. As you finish, you wipe your face off with some toilet paper and flush the contents of the toilet out. You look back at Kakashi, an “I told you so” expression on your face.

“Still pretty.” He shrugs.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

“(Y/N)...” Shikamaru grumbled, sprawled out on the couch. His legs were strewn over your legs as you sat on the other end of your couch studying away. 

“Mm.” You sniffed, writing down another answer before chucking a snotty tissue into the bin. It hit the wall and rolled across the floor. You sighed in frustration and carried on.

“(Y/N).” Shikamaru said again more firmly. He sat up this time. You grunted again before letting out a cough. “(Y/N) take a break.”

“I’m fine.” You grumbled, brushing him off.

“You really aren’t,” he rolled his eyes, “you can’t be working in this state. You can’t get anything done.” You grit your teeth and tightened your grip on your pencil.

“Watch me,” you hissed. You can’t afford to slack off. Not when exam season was nearing. He plucked the notebook from you and threw it across the room, landing on the table. “Shikamaru! What the hell!”

“Jesus, woman, can you listen to me?” He said exasperated, “you’ll regret this even more if you’re sick during the exam. Just let me help you for once you stubborn woman.” He got up and paced the room as he spoke, and you sighed. Your head was spinning. Maybe you needed a break. You gave in.

“Fine,” you mumbled, putting your pencil down, making the point of slamming it into the couch to emphasize your frustration. You slumped down into a lying position on the couch, facing away from Shikamaru. You didn’t want to admit that you needed a break and, more importantly, needed him. You kept your face twisted into a scowl. You hated being pulled out of your “zone”, but if there was anyone you would let get away with it... It was him.

“You can be such a drag to be nice to sometimes,” Shikamaru huffed, pulling a blanket over you. He sat on the floor by your side, choosing to ignore your anger. He ran his fingers through your hair as you started to calm down. It was kind of sweet that he was being so nice to you. He never showed that sensitive and concerned side of him very often. You let out an involuntary hum of contentedness as he scratched the back of your neck. He knew you liked it there.

“What a troublesome woman.” He laughed quietly to himself.

You grabbed a pillow and whacked him over the head.

* * *

**Sai**

“How are you feeling,” Sai asked as he stood over you, pushing your hair back. You pulled the blanket over yourself.

“Not great...” you croaked. Your throat has been absolutely wrecked from coughing. You could barely even swallow anything. Everything hurt. You blinked tears away but they kept coming. You bit your lip and winced as your throat started stinging again. “Sai,” you rasped, “go home.”

He stared at you, shaking his head.

“Please...” you went into another coughing fit. You felt a searing pain in your throat, and reluctantly took another sip of tea. You were in so much pain, and the medication has been working it’s magic but so, so slowly. You just wanted to go outside, smell the fresh air, feel air flow freely into your lungs... You wanted to go cherry blossom viewing with Sai, but those plans are out the window now.

“I’m staying, (Y/N),” he narrowed his eyes, “you are in no state to be left alone right now. 

You looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Please... I don’t want you to get sick too...” He shook his head again, and climbed under the sheets next to you, wrapping you in a warm embrace. “Sai,” you inched away from him, “you’re gonna get sick...”

“Then I will understand your pain.” He closed his eyes, and the two of you fell asleep.


	6. Rainy Days

**Uzumaki Naruto**

"You big idiot, I told you it was going to rain today!" you frowned, watching the downpour outside the door of the restaurant. The train station was right there across the street but judging from that heavy downpour there was no way you two were gonna make it without getting drenched. It was raining bullets out there.

"Crap. Sorry." Naruto winced. There wasn't a convenience store nearby and you and Naruto weren't so keen on going out into that rain to find out. You _just_ recovered from a sickness and you couldn't afford to get sick again. You groaned at the thought of being stuck in your bed for another 4 days. But Naruto, ever the optimist, had an idea in mind.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" You watch as he removes his hoodie, grinning his signature grin.

"I have an idea!" He pushes the door open and the two of you stand under the awning of the restaurant. The rain was practically drilling the ground and it was so thick you could barely even see the train station across the street. You could barely make out the faint glow of the stoplight at the end of the crosswalk. You turn to Naruto to ask him what his big idea was, but before you could he moves forward, nudging you closer and closer to the rain, holding his sweater over his head as a makeshift cover. "Okay, on the count of three we're gonna make a run for it."

"Wait! What! Naruto-" but he pushed you into the rain, the two of you running across the crosswalk taking cover under his sweater, which, quite obviously, was not nearly big enough to cover both of you. You screamed as you ran and the rain hit you,

" _NARUTO_!" But the screaming quickly turned into laughter - laughter from both of you, as you tore through the wall of rain at the end of the crosswalk and made it to the train station. You wrapped your arms around him in an embrace, shaking with laughter and he did the same. You looked up at him and, caught up in the high of running through the rain, kissed him. He kissed you back, tasting some of the rain water on his lips. You laughed in between kisses before pulling away to look at him, your forehead pressed against his. Maybe it was good that Naruto left his umbrella at home today, after all.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

Sasuke lounged on his couch, absentmindedly flipping through the channels on the TV. Where were you? You were supposed to be here 15 minutes ago. He brushed it off and continued flipping through channel after channel after channel. It was really starting to pour out there. He couldn’t help but wonder if you were safe. The thick rain wall must have made visibility hard out there. He balled his hands into fists as the risks of traveling in heavy rain wouldn’t leave him alone. To his relief you rang the doorbell. He hopped up to go answer it.

He opened the door to find you standing there, dripping wet. Soaked from head to toe. Your shoes were just pockets of portable rainwater, your shirt slicked to your skin. You laughed nervously as you shivered, “you don’t happen to have a change of clothes, do you?” You ask sheepishly. 

“Oh my God, (Y/N) you idiot, get inside you’re gonna get sick again,” Sasuke yanked you inside and shut the door, dashing to the bathroom to get some towels. You opened the door up again and dumped water out of your shoe, cringing as you saw just how much there was. As you closed the door and took your shoes off Sasuke came running back, towel in hand. Opening the towel he wrapped his arms around you and held you there.

“Sorry I’m late?” Your apology comes off more like a question. Sasuke just hugs you tighter, warming you up with his body heat. He hands you one of his shirts.

“You need to change or you’ll freeze. You’re lucky Itachi’s out of town.” You make off to the bathroom and change, hanging your wet clothes up on his towel rack. When you’re done you follow the sounds of the TV to find Sasuke on the couch, struggling to find a TV station he was happy with.

You step into the living room and the floorboard creaks under you. Sasuke turns to you and sees you in the shirt he gave you, one of his. He doesn’t say a word. Just stares. You look down at yourself. “Well it’s definitely warmer,” you laugh to yourself. Little did you know that seeing you in something of his was driving Sasuke mad. His heart started beating faster and faster as he got up from his place on the couch and made his way to you.

“Mind if I turn the heat up a little?” He purrs, a hand finding its place on your back. He pulls you in and kisses you tenderly on your lips a few times before his lips travelled down to your jaw and down your neck, finding your sweet spot. You let out a little gasp of pleasure, tangling your hands in his hair.

You definitely weren’t shivering now.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

It was already chilly enough as it is, and now it was raining. As you stepped out of the mall and under the entrance awning you felt a breeze hit you, along with some of the rain.

“Don’t worry I have an umbrella,” Gaara waved his umbrella, “we’ll be fine.” He looked down at you and noticed you gritting your teeth, arms wrapped tightly around yourself to maintain heat. “You cold?”

“Yeah. A little.” You shivered slightly, tensing your muscles to keep it in. You didn’t want Gaara to worry about you too much. “Don’t worry about me,” you smiled weakly, but it wasn’t doing a great job of convincing him.

“Here,” he started to unzip his jacket, “you need it more than me.” You instantly protest.

“No- I don’t want you to get sick. Keep it on.” You put a hand on his, stopping him from continuing to remove his jacket.

“Okay,” he narrowed his eyes thinking of a solution, “then... We can share the jacket.”

“How do you even share a jacket? Gaara, I’m shorter than you. We can’t do the one person per sleeve thing.” He unzipped his jacket, slipping his arms out of his sleeves so the body of the jacket draped over his back like a cloak.

“Trust me, (Y/N). This jacket’s big for me anyway. It’ll work. My house is close by, it’ll be fine.” You shrugged, deciding to trust him, allowing him to do as he pleased. He wrapped both of his arms around you, pulling you to his chest. To your surprise he pulled the sides of the jacket around you, zipping the jacket up over you. By some crazy miracle this jacket was big enough to fit you both. “Okay,” he opened the umbrella up, “let’s go.”

~~~

“Thank god you’re back, it was just starting to pour out there,” Temari stood at the door, her hands on her hips, clicking her tongue like an angry mother as Gaara faced away from her to shake out the umbrella. “Where’s (Y/N)?”

Gaara turned around to reveal you in his jacket, unzipping it to free you as you laughed nervously, greeting Temari. “H-hi Temari,” your cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. Her face fell and her eyebrow lowered.

“It’s so cute it’s kind of gross.”

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

“Oh God... It’s raining _today?_ But I got these shoes yesterday...” you look down at your brand new shoes. “Now they’re gonna be ruined...” you look out to the rain which was coming down in sheets. You just needed to get home from Kiba’s place which was maybe 15 minutes on foot, but you weren’t too keen on walking 15 minutes in the rain in your brand new shoes. You were never even the type to be so fussy about this kind of stuff, but you really liked this pair.

“Damn it’s raining cats and dogs out there,” Kiba stood next to you in the doorway, “are you sure you want to walk home in that rain?”

“I have to, it’s getting late and I’m supposed to catch an early morning train tomorrow...” you sighed. You haven’t even started getting ready for your weekend trip with your friends. Great. “I just have to find a way to get home. Without my feet touching the ground. It’s that or I go barefoot.”

“I have a better idea,” Kiba grinned proudly, grabbing an umbrella and squatting in front of you. He pat his back. “Hop on.” You burst into laughter.

“No. No way. You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious.” He turned to look at you. “Come on, don’t make me squat for so long, babe, it hurts my legs.” He joked.

“If you insist...” you climbed onto his back and he stood up, “are you sure about this? I’m not too heavy?”

“Not at all.” He turned his head back and gave you a thumbs up. You rolled your eyes and laughed as he started his way down the apartment building stairs.

“It’s like riding on a horse,” you rest your chin on top of his head and giggled. He just smirked and tilted his chin to look up at you, a dirty grin on his face.

“If it’s a ride you wanted you could’ve just asked,” he wiggled his eyebrows at you. You poked him on the forehead, unamused.

“You wish, Inuzuka.”

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

“We really should have just stayed at the mall,” Kakashi said glumly, though his expression was the same as always. Half lidded eyes in a neutral expression. Even so you could tell he was frowning under the mask as his eyes scanned the area in search of some sort of structure that you two could walk under for some cover. Nothing. The rain started coming down even heavier.

“It’s okay, we have umbrellas,” you reassured him, opening yours up. “Walks in the park in the rain can be fun.” You took his hand and pulled him forward. He shrugged and opened his own, the two of you walking through the rain hand in hand. The birds twittered from their nests in the trees and the park smelled of fresh Earth from the rain hitting the ground. It was almost kind of scenic. “See? This isn’t so ba-“

You trip over the slippery pavement and start to come crashing down, only Kakashi catches you at the last minute, his hand under you and around your torso as if he had just dipped you. He put his umbrella down, the rain falling onto him, wetting his silver hair making it even messier than before (if that was even possible) and removed his mask.

“Kakashi what are you doing? You -“ you say with concern, only to be cut off by Kakashi putting his hand on your cheek, his thumb brushing over your lips.

“If I had that umbrella in my hand I wouldn’t be able to do this,” and he pulled you into a time-stopping kiss. The rain dripped down his face and you could taste the rain water on his lips. You dropped your umbrella as you were caught off guard, before relaxing and putting your hands into his damp hair. The whole thing was something straight out of a romance movie, the two of you kissing in the rain, water pouring down your faces. The rain was cold but his lips were warm, both of your faces only getting warmer as you kissed again and again. He pulled away and smirked.

“Yeah, I guess this is a little fun.”

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Shikamaru felt a buzz in his pocket. He took his phone out to read a text from you:

_(Y/N): i’ll see u at the tram stop!_

He’s already been here at the tram stop for a while waiting. Bored out of his mind he decided to take this opportunity to look around on the internet. Nothing seemed to be of much interest today, and on top of that the rain was really messing with the internet. Even loading photos was taken forever. _What a drag..._ He thought to himself.

“I’m here!” You said, panting to catch your breath, “I wasn’t expecting the rain so I got a bit wet.” Shikamaru stared.

“A bit?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I’m here now,” you shrugged, opening your arms for a hug. He kept staring at you, an apprehensive expression on his face. You laughed and gasped in mock surprise, “Nara Shikamaru! Are you afraid of getting wet?”

He went flustered and sputtered, “no! I’m not!” You wrapped him in a hug, giggling. He rolled his eyes, to focused on how much you were laughing to bother being upset. He wrapped his arms around you, forgetting about how soaked you were, and kissed the top of your head.

* * *

**Sai**

It was another day of watching Sai work his magic on the canvas. The two of you were situated on his balcony overlooking this area of Konoha, something that didn’t happen very often but Sai had insisted after it had started raining. He had brought his watercolor materials out with him and worked away as you sat a foldable chair across from him, arm resting on a table propping your head up on your hand as you watched the streets below.

“I’ll get you some tea to keep you warm,” Sai went back indoors to go brew some tea. You took this opportunity to scan the area below.

Barely anybody was out today. Anyone in their right mind would look at the barrages of rain attacking the street and think twice about running errands or hanging out today. No, everyone was indoors and there wasn’t much to see, but the sound of the rain was calming and somewhat therapeutic to you, to be safe in your little pocket of dryness as the rain poured just beyond it. Out of the corner of your eye you watched two brightly colored figures move into the rain.

Two children, both in pastel rain coats and splashing around in their rain boots, made their way down the sidewalk and into the streets. They pulled toys from their pockets, setting them onto the street and watching them swim their way down, carried by the rain. _Paper boats._ You noted, watching them giggle as they egged on their own boats. You couldn’t keep yourself from smiling watching their little contest. Their laughter was contagious. You heard the sliding door close behind you.

“I got your tea,” Sai set the tea down on the table, “just the way you like it.” He noticed you looking out at the street intently. “What are you looking at?”

You pointed your head towards the children below, who had taken their boats and made their way back up the street for a rematch. Sai squinted to see better through the rain before understanding. His face lit up, “Origami?” He asked excitedly, “if you wanted to try you should have asked!” He pulled a few papers from his bag, folding away.

“Sai,” you laughed, “you never told me you could do Origami.” He finished his paper boat.

“Of course I can,” he set it down in front of you. “Look it’s even (F/C). If i’m remembering right that’s your favorite color right?”

“You know me too well, Sai,” you smile softly, watching him fold one for himself.

You and Sai spend the rest of the afternoon with your boats, cheering as they float down the street. Clearly this was Sai’s first time playing with paper boats seeing that he was beyond excited when he watched his boat float down the street for the first time. His eyes were wide with amazement and full of childlike wonder. You played until your boats got soggy and the rain started to let up, beaming at each other as you headed back inside for a warm cup of tea after a cold and wet afternoon.


	7. Competition

**Uzumaki Naruto**

“Well, what’d you think?” Naruto strolled next to you, hands behind his head, his eyes closed and his face relaxed. You and Naruto had just spent the afternoon at a BBQ place being introduced to his friends Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba. 

“It was fine,” you said as you ran the conversations through your mind. “Don’t appreciate how you called me weak, though.” 

He opened an eye to look at you, maintaining his carefree posture. “When’d I do that?” He narrowed his eye.

“When you were telling them how we met. For the record I just wasn’t holding the pole. Anyone else would’ve tripped if they were in that situation. I’m not weak, Naruto,” you say matter-of-factly. “In fact, I bet I could beat you at an arm wrestle.”

The offer of a competition intrigued Naruto, who grinned in response to your challenge. “Oh yeah? I’ll totally beat you.”

You decided to add some fuel to the fire of competition you had just lit up in him. “Oh yeah?”

His excited happy-go-lucky demeanor was suddenly replaced with one of determination and focus. He smirked, stopping in the middle of the street, his eyes focused on you and you alone. “Believe it.” Out of the corner of your eye you spotted a bench beside the sidewalk. You take a seat and prop your arm up into an arm-wrestling position on the arm of the bench. He knelt down on the other side of the benches arm, his hand locked with yours. He rested his arm on his knee.

“Be prepared to lose, Uzumaki.”

“That’s funny. I was about to say the same thing to you, (Y/L/N).”

You began pushing against his arm, completely convinced that you were going to win. Naruto wasn’t going to call you weak in front of his friends you’ve only just met and get away with it. You gave it your all, and it seemed to be working. You could feel his arm slowly start to lower as his strength seemed to falter. You grinned smugly,

“Ha- giving up so soon, Naru-“

He leaned over and kissed you before you could finish. Taken by surprise, you closed your eyes, kissing him back. His tongue licked the bottom of your lips, a request for entrance. You opened your mouth to give it to him, but just as you did...

The back of your hand hit tue arm of the bench. Naruto pulled away from you, jumping up in excitement, pumping his fist up in the air.

“Wh-what-“ you sputter. “No fair!”

“Haha! I win!” He yells, making sure everyone around you could hear. You get up and grab him by the collar, pulling him down to your eye level.

“You’re going to pay for that, Uzumaki,” you scowl, pressing your forehead against his. How dare he start something like that and not satisfy you for the sake of winning? All he could do was give you a lopsided grin, raising an eyebrow.

“Is that supposed to be a threat, (Y/L/N)?”

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

“So, who’s the better sibling, (Y/N)” Itachi sat on the armchair next to then couch you and Sasuke were seated on, “me or Sasuke?”

Everything between Sasuke and Itachi was a competition. To Itachi it was all lighthearted fun, but to Sasuke...

“Hn.” He slouched into the couch, “I don’t care.” But he did care. Very much. You laughed at Sasuke’s nonchalance as you hummed to yourself, considering this with “deep thought.”

“Itachi,” you smiled sweetly. Sasuke practically jolted up, his head whipping in your direction.

“Wh - but - (Y/N)!” He huffed. Itachi sat proudly in his aemchair, unable to hold back a smile, clearly pleased with how genuinely upset Sasuke was getting over something so trivial. “Take that back,” Sasuke got on all fours, climbing over you.

“Or what?” You smiled innocently. He began to attack your stomach with tickles. You were squirming under him, tears rolling down your face and bursting into fits of laughter as he didn’t stop.

“Sasuke!” You said between laughs, squirming, “stop!” You kept laughing.

“ _Say_ _it_ ,” Sasuke said icily.

“Okay! Okay! You’re better!”

Itachi smiled to himself, shaking his head as he got up and left the room, “I’ll leave you two to it.”

Sasuke ceased his tickle attack, so the two of you were now gazing at each other. He brought one of his hands to your face and...

Poked you on the forehead.

“You’re annoying sometimes.”

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

Gaara wasn’t really the kind to challenge you outright, but when the snow fell down outside and you told him you were sure that you could build a snow fort that would outshine his sand castles, he was very keen to see you try.

He had brought you to the park, hot cocoa on standby as he picked a bench to to sit on as he watched you work. You slipped your favorite pair of snow gloves on.

“Just you wait, Gaara, this snow fort is gonna knock your socks off,” you grinned, hands on your hips. Gaara tucked a lock of hair behind your ear and kissed your cheek before sitting down on the bench.

“I’m sure it’ll do just that, (Y/N),” he nodded, opening up the canteen of hot cocoa. He was lying. But, of course, he wouldn’t tell you that and did very much like to see you try.

You set off, packing snow, using your “tools” to carve out patterns (and by tools you meant your frozen fingers), and soon enough you had a fully fledged snow fort. You made your way back to Gaara, waddling through the thick snow. You proudly gestured at your snow fort.

“What do you think?” You ask him. He looks over at your snow fort. It was pretty lame, nothing more than a pile of snow lumped together to create something more like a makeshift barricade than a snow fort. He sipped his hot cocoa.

“It’s.... Nice.” He said, expressionless. He avoided your gaze. You raised an eyebrow, smiling.

“Oh _wow_ Gaara, do you think your sandcastles are better than my snow fort?” You joked, “ _do you really think so?”_

Gaara said nothing in reply. He just looked at your snow fort a little longer. You turned back to look at it. Your face fell.

“...Actually yeah it’s kind of dinky.” You sigh. Gaara smiles, taking your nearly frostbitten hands and rubbing his hands over them to warm them up.

“It’s an A for effort,” he smiles before he plants a kiss on your forehead.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

“What are you talking about, that’s ridiculous!” Kiba scoffed, “Akamaru does _not_ love you more, I _raised_ him!”

“Well it definitely looks like he does,” you say matter-of-factly as you give Akamaru a pet on the head as he lay in your lap. He’s been practically glued to you since you’ve gotten here today, attracted to you like a magnet. You two hear a door open and Kiba’s mom walks into the living room.

“You guys arguing over who Akamaru likes more, huh?” She sighs, putting a hand on her hip. “Only one way to settle this,” she walks over to you and Akamaru, pulling him up to a standing position. “Okay (Y/N), Kiba, you guys stand on opposite sides of the room and let Akamaru do the choosing himself.” As she moved away from you you felt her slide something in her pocket. You open your mouth to tell her but she looks back at you and winks.

You and Kiba do as you’re told, and his mother releases the dog, who begins happily bounding towards you. You give Akamaru a hug as he licks your face. “See? He loves me,” you stick your tongue out at Kiba, who stands there in disbelief. 

“No way. My own dog. You’ve got to be-“

As Akamaru tackles you to the ground something comes flying out of your pocket, landing in front of the distressed Kiba - a packet of dog treats. He pouts.

“Hey! You were cheating!” He yells, “unfair!”

Kiba’s mom, caught in the crossfire, snickers. Kiba points a finger at her accusingly.

“ _You were in on it too?”_

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You have just spent the last few minutes scouring Kakashi’s place for your phone to no avail. You couldn’t find it anywhere and were getting pretty stressed out. You were expecting an important call from a friend and didn’t want to miss it.

“Kakashi have you seen my phon-“ There he was, lounging on the couch, your phone in hand. Your face turned red. _He hasn’t seen my home screen, has he?_

“Oh this thing? Yep.” He looked at his reflection in the screen, putting up a little peace sign. You marched to the couch and leaned over him.

“Kakashi... Can I have my phone back...” You frowned. He got up.

“Sure,” he said, and you reached your arm out to take it, only he had passed it to his other hand, extending his arm so you had to lunge for it. You tried, but didn’t make it. “If you can reach it,” he winked. Challenge accepted.

You lunged to the left and right, but he was swiftly passing it from hand to hand, laughing as he did so. He then raised his arm up real high and stood on his tiptoes so you’d have to do the same to grab it. You just barely missed it, even with the added height of your tiptoes. You were just about to jump, but as Kakashi saw you preparing to do so he kicked back onto the couch. You straddled his body, crawling your way down the couch to his arm, which he extended out behind him. You knew what you had to do.

Just before you reached your arm out to retrieve your phone, you pulled his mask down and kissed him nice and slow. He gratefully returned your kisses, his other hand moving to caress your back. This caused his body to relax and you saw your opportunity to strike.

Mid-kiss you grabbed your phone. “Got it!” You grinned, sitting upright. You kissed him on the forehead. “Thank you, baby~” you mused. Kakashi found it too cute to even be mad.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

“What you watching, Shikamaru?” You plop onto the other side of the couch, glass of water in hand, throwing your legs up over his. Shikamaru was staring at the TV intently, clearly very concentrated. A brain teaser show was on the TV.

“Shut up, (Y/N) I’m thinking.” He was. His hands were positioned in such a way that his fingers were touching, his own nonverbal way of communicating deep thought. You looked to the TV.

“‘Are you smarter than a fifth grader?’ You’re kidding, right?” You wrinkle your nose at the game show on the TV. “Just google the answers, Shikamaru.”

He waved your teasing off, “no, I _know_ the answer to the question.”

“I’m sure you do,” you huffed, slumping down further in your seat and taking a sip of water. You look to the screen again, reading the question on the board aloud, “Plato theorized a world from which the template of every Earthly form resides. What is the name of this world?” You choked on your water. _Jesus, fifth graders are learning these days?_ You remembered the rapidly climbing standard of education in Konoha, and suddenly you weren’t as surprised.

Shikamaru relaxed his hands, marking the completion of a thought. “‘The world of ideas’.” He said before returning to a relaxed position. You frowned.

“Pretty sure it was ‘the world of ideals’.”

“‘Ideas’. I’m sure of it.” You scoffed.

“500 yen says it’s ‘ideals’.” You procure a coin from your pocket, twisting it around between your fingers. Shikamaru smiled to himself.

“Not wise to bet on something you don’t know much about,” he yawned, “but sure.”

“I think I remember my Greek Philosophy, Shikamaru.”

“Oh hey they’re revealing the answer.”

You and Shikamaru sat on the edge of the couch, leaning in closer to the TV to hear. The host made a dramatic show of building up to the answer before pressing the button, revealing...

“The world of ideas”

You pursued your lips, unhappy with your defeat. Beside you, Shikamaru lounged back into the couch, grinning.

“I think i’ll be taking that 500 yen, (Y/N).”

* * *

** Sai **

“(Y/N)’s back” Sakura called, setting her cup of water on the table, “did you find a game back there?” You, Sakura, and Naruto all came to Sai’s place to unwind, and group energy was draining fast. You and Sakura had decided to play a game to raise everyone’s spirits.

Scratch that, it was to make Naruto shut up about how bored he was.

“Piction- what?” Sai asked as you set a small box on the table. 

“Pictionary. Or, at least, some knockoff version that was probably from the 100 yen store,” you studied the cover of the box, turning it over to find a 100 yen store sticker on the back. _Definitely a knockoff_. Emptying the box of it’s contents you found a stack of cards listing nouns, a few pencils, an hourglass, and some paper. _Kinda dinky, but it’ll work._ You thought to yourself.

Sai scooted up closer to the coffee table, seated on his knees as you positioned yourself across from him in the same way, and Naruto and Sakura filled up the other 2 sides of the coffee table. You lay the pencils and paper out and shuffled the cards, placing them on the middle of the table along with the hourglass timer. “How do you play?” He asked, poking around at the cards.

“Well it’s pretty easy. Whoever’s turn it is will draw a card from that deck, not show it to anyone, and the timer will start. Everyone has to guess what the card said before time’s up.” Sakura explained. Sai put a finger to his chin, tapping it.

“I see.”

“Yeah okay, let’s just play,” Naruto grabbed a pencil and a paper, “me first!” He drew a card and squinted at it, before turning the hourglass over. He scrawled a few lines on his paper.

Everyone wrinkled their noses in confusion as they crowded around him, trying to interpret what in the world he was drawing.

“... is it... a balloon...”

“No, it’s a bundle of sticks!”

“It’s obviously diglet from Pokemon.”

The hourglass ran out of time. Naruto slammed his pencil on the table.

“ _Really_ guys? It was a _hand_.” Everyone stared at each other.

“Diglet.”

“Pah! Fine! Sai, you do it.” Naruto threw his paper in the air and it floated to the table. Sai shrugged and took a card. He began to draw. He hummed innocently but what he was drawing... It was nothing short of a masterpiece.

“Okay, Sai,” you all sighed, “you can stop showing off now.”


	8. Caught!

WARNING: mature themes! limes ahead!

* * *

** Uzumaki Naruto **

“Sasuke’s running late again...” Naruto grumbled as he put his phone down. Sasuke should’ve been here 15 minutes ago and Naruto was getting impatient fast, and you knew how annoying he gets when he does. Once he was set off into rant mode there was no turning back. You had put a movie on to pacify him but the effect had started to wear off. You had a little idea.

“Well,” you walked up to Naruto, who was sitting on an armchair, sitting on his lap, “in the meantime maybe you and I could find some way to kill the time,” you mused sweetly, two fingers “walking” their way up from his chest to his face, cupping his face in your hand. He grinned.

“I like the sound of that!”

You pressed your lips to his, tangling your fingers in his hair. The two of you smiled into the kiss, happy you had “found a way to kill the time”. He leaned into the kiss, tongue finding its way into your mouth. His kisses were sweet and delicious. You relished in every one. You seemed to be enjoying yourself a little too much, as you let out a hum of pleasure. Naruto broke the kiss, trailing kisses along your jaw, tilting your chin up with one hand and stroking your back with the other. His touch was so tantalizing, you wanted more.

“Naruto...” you whispered in his ear as he kissed down your neck, finding your sweet spot and softly sucking on it. As you said his name his kisses and hands became even firmer, securing you as you body started to tremble from the pleasure of his kisses. You were so weak for him, and he was loving it, starting to break out of his shy kisses. He kissed you with tongue once more, lifting the bottom of your shirt up to feel your skin.

“(Y/N)-“

The two of you stopped with a jolt as your heard banging at the door.

“Oy, Naruto,” you heard Sasuke’s bored voice from behind the door, “open up.”

“Damn it, Sasuke,” Naruto scowled, marching to the door, but now it was no longer Sasuke’s tardiness that was making him so upset.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

“Finally, Itachi’s out for work for the day,” Sasuke attacked you with kisses, pushing you up against the wall. Sasuke never really liked showing displays affection in front of other people, let alone his brother, so the second the two of you managed to get alone the both of you could do as you pleased. “I’ve been waiting to get you alone all day,” he breathed between steamy kisses to your neck. His lips trailed from your neck down to your collarbone, where he found your sweet spot and started sucking on it, eliciting a moan from you as you threw your head back in pleasure.

“Sasuke~,” you moaned, your hands finding their way into his black hair. He groaned in delight to the sound of your voice. You climbed up his body, legs wrapped around his waist, and he pulled you close to him desperately, his lips not breaking contact with the sensitive skin on your neck, he lay you down on the couch and climbed on top of you, leaning down to kiss you.

His tongue made its way into your mouth, exploring every corner of it. Each kiss whispered _mine, mine, mine._ As he kissed you his hands made their way under your shirt, sliding it off and throwing it to the ground. He pulled away, breaking the kiss to look at you.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he muttered between breathless pants, eyes scanning your body, hungry to know what it all must taste like. He licked his lips. Just before he could lean in to kiss you once more-

“The two of you just couldn’t wait for me to leave first?”

You yelped in shock, clinging onto Sasuke to cover your body. Sasuke was furious.

“ _Itachi!_ I thought you left. I _heard_ the door.”

“That was the bathroom door, Sasuke. I’m leaving now so the two of you can... Carry on, I suppose.” Itachi shook his head, partly in embarrassment and partly in humor, turning to leave.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

It was incredible how even heated, intimate moments with Gaara managed to maintain an essence of sweetness and innocence with the care he showed you. In every kiss you could feel his each and every wish for you, wishes of kindness in one, wishes of safety in another, wishes of good health in yet another.

It was rare to get him to break out of his usual quiet demeanor, but when you did it was like magic. You were laying on Gaara’s lap on his couch as he looked into your eyes, playing with your hair.

“Gaara,” you whispered, and he leaned down, waiting to hear more, but you simply cupped your hand on his cheek and kissed him. He smiled softly before kissing you back, a hand finding its way on the small of your back, pressing it gently to encourage you to sit up, and so you did, straddling Gaara. He broke the kiss to gaze into your eyes, his look asking you a question you could read as if it had been spoken from his lips. Gaara never liked to be so forward when it came to intimacy, and always wanted your approval before doing anything. You had known this by now.

You took his hands and placed them on your thighs. He kissed you gratefully, his hands shifting up and down your thighs as he kissed you, every sweet kiss causing you to feel as if you were melting into him. You pressed yourself closer to him as you melted, resting your head in the crook of his neck, your arms around him to hold him. He turned his head and kissed your neck and you pulled back, allowing him to dot kisses on your collarbones. You lifted his head by taking his chin and tilting it up, pressing your lips against his, indulging in his sweet kisses.

“Wow, didn’t know you had it in you, Gaara,” Kankuro leaned onto the doorframe of the living room, grinning smugly. Gaara’s face flushed. “No, no sorry to bother you. By all means, continue.”

“K-Kankuro get out!”

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

“What do you think?” You stepped out from behind the closet door to show Kiba the shirt you bought. He eyed you up and down before leaning back onto the bed, eyes fixed on you.

“It’s alright, I guess. You could wear it better, though,” he shrugged. You look at him pointedly, hands on your hips.

“Oh yeah? How do you suggest I wear it?”

Kiba got up and walked to you before fussing around with the shirt, then tilted your chin up to look at him. The two of you just looked at each other for a few moments before he leaned down so his lips were brushing your ear as he growled sensuously.

“You could take it off.”

You were so taken aback that you didn’t even have time to react before Kiba’s lips slammed into yours, his inner beast clearly having been awakened. His tongue flicked your bottom lip, and you granted him entrance, allowing him to slide his tongue in and do as he pleased. You moaned, and he growled against the kiss. It wasn’t long before the two of you found yourselves crashing onto his bed, him on top of you, dominating you. His eyes looked into yours with a predatory gleam in them, hands pinning down his prey.

He slipped your shirt off, throwing it at the head of the bed, hot lips kissing what was exposed of your chest. You squirmed beneath him, nails raking down his back through his shirt, begging for more. “Kiba~” you moaned. This pleased him greatly, as he brought his lips to yours again, tongue making his territory in your mouth, hands traveling up and down your legs. His fingers traced your inner thighs agonizingly lightly. He nibbled on your lip, something you hadn’t been expecting, and you couldn’t hold back another moan of delight.

“Ah~!”

Unfortunately the volume of it had alerted Akamaru, who the two of you could hear making his way down the hallway. Your faces fell as you two realized how awkward it’s be to proceed with Akamaru as your spectator. Just before Kiba could run up and close the door, his dog stood bounded in, resting himself by the door as if on guard. You and Kiba sighed.

Kiba scratched the back of his head. “Well, at least we know you’d protect her, huh?”

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

School was back in session now meaning it was back to work for Kakashi and (more importantly to both of you) less together time. The only times you’d get to see Kakashi were during lunch breaks and after school when you’d pick him up, and the two of you were determined not to waste any of that precious time together. You always arrived at his office on the dot, memorizing his schedule within the first few days he was gone.

You stepped into his dim office. Funny. All the curtains were drawn. “Kakashi? I don’t know if you saw it but this morning I brought your lunch-“

Before you could even turn back around from shutting the door Kakashi had you pinned up against it, kissing your neck feverishly. You gasped in surprise. His hands were on your hips, holding you against the door, and you felt one slide away, locking his door with a _click._

_“_ I can’t stand being away from you for so long,” he murmured before kissing his way up your neck and to your jaw. “(Y/N),” he rasped into your ear. His voice was pleading, begging, and yet enticing. The door was locked, the windows were down, and you couldn’t deny that his desperate kisses felt so good. You lifted a leg up to his waist and he put a hand there, holding it up. He pressed your body against the door with the weight of his so you could lift your second leg, both legs now wrapped around his waist. He pressed his forehead against yours, hungry eyes looking into yours as he set you on his desk, your legs still wrapped around him.

He slid his hands under your shirt, lips locking with yours. You shivered as his hands explored your skin. As they made their way up your torso he slipped his tongue into your mouth, kissing you sweetly. You moaned his name in pleasure. “Kakashi~”

This only increased his appetite for you. He grabbed your waist, pulling you in and-

“Kakashi! I have come to-” A booming voice interrupted the two of you and you froze as you realized Kakashi had forgotten about the door connecting his office with that of Might Guy’s, who now stood in said doorway, just as embarrassed as the two of you were. Or maybe he was just shocked to see Kakashi without his mask on. Nonetheless, he sputtered a reply, his face red as a tomato,

“Oh! I see you’re busy! I will return later to uh-“ he dashed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

The two of you had been standing in an elevator ready to return to his place. He had an arm around your waist and the two of you watched the elevator rise in silence when he suddenly planted a kiss to your lips. “Shikamaru,” you breathed into the kiss. His grip around your waist tightened and he drew you in closer, parting your lips to slip his tongue in your mouth. Shikamaru was never very vocal when it came to intimacy, but he was always the one who started it and when he was in the mood he was insatiable. 

“I haven’t gotten you alone all day,” he breathed, kissing you again. The elevator dinged and the two of you crashed your way through the hallway, kissing up against walls and kissing in between steps. You arrived at his door the the two of you were already all in, your legs wrapped around his waist and him having pressed you to the door, kissing and sucking your neck. You moaned in delight as he sucked on your sweet spot, making him want you even more. He pulled away to look at you, his gaze almost seemed strategic, like he was inwardly hatching a plot to dominate you and make you his. Some may say his gaze was almost calculating, analyzing your each and every detail, trying to commit it to memory.

He swiftly pulled the key to his place from his pocket, unlocking the door and pressing you up against it again once you were inside.

His kisses were hot and steamy and you could feel your skin burning up in anticipation and arousal. It was very rare that Shikamaru got into one of his moods, and every time he did it took your breath away. Every kiss was calculated, every touch meticulously planned. He knew exactly what to do to drive you crazy. He always knew what to do. You squirmed, moaning as you felt hand slide up your thigh, getting dangerously close to the space between your legs. His touch lingered there for a moment before drawing his hand away.

“Shikamaru~!” You moaned into a kiss, writhing against the door. He was driving you mad. You wanted more, you wanted _him -_

_Crunch!_

The two of you heard a crunch from the living room, and your stomach dropped. Shikamaru set you down, visibly displeased.

“Choji!” He barked. Choji yelled his response, too embarrassed to face the both of you.

“I’m just eating some chips, uh, don’t worry I saw nothing!” Shikamaru sighed, turning away from you to begrudgingly greet Choji. You did the same.

* * *

**Sai**

You were lying on Sai’s lap, the two of you just resting yourselves after a long day out. Naruto was there too, but he had just left to take a shower in Sai's bathroom, so now the two of you were alone, enjoying each other's company. Sai ran his fingers through your hair, humming a song to himself in contentedness. His fingers traced the features of your face, settling at your lips.

"You know ever since that first kiss we shared I've been thoroughly enamored by your lips." You rolled your eyes, giggling.

"Uhuh, and what about them?" You poked his nose. He smiled softly.

"I get to keep them to myself." He leaned down and kissed you and you returned the kiss, resting your hand on his cheek, slowly stroking your thumb over his skin. You sat up, deepening the kiss. Sai pulled away for a few moments, saying nothing, just looking. You could only wonder what he was thinking about - what he was ever thinking about.

"You truly are a work of art." the corners of his mouth tugged upwards into an innocent smile. He never said much but the things he did say spoke volumes, and you loved that about him. You kissed him again and found yourself surprised when he licked the bottom of your lips, your mouth opening and his tongue slipping into your mouth. His kisses were soft and yet firm, his hands deftly moving from the small of your back and into your hair, scratching the back of your neck. You hummed with pleasure, feeling a smile on his lips as the two of you kissed again and again. You had to admit you were taken aback by the nature of his kisses - where had Sai, of all people, learned to kiss as wonderfully as he did?

Sai leaned into the kiss, hands gently curving over your shoulders and making their way down your arms to hold your hands. His sweetness took your breath away. "Sai," you breathed, but he just kissed his way down your neck.

"Shh," he hushed you, and you didn't say another word as he kissed your collarbones.

"Damn, Sai, I didn't know you had it in you! Get some!" You heard a voice from the doorway. Sai pulled away coolly to look at Naruto, who was watching the two of you, pumping his fist. You were so startled you fell off of Sai.

"Naruto! What are you doing!" You yelled, "I thought you were taking a shower!"

"I was." You sputtered in disbelief. There was no way he could have showered that fast.

"You were gone for less than 4 minutes!"

"...I know."

* * *

**A/N:** Hoo boy that was one heck of a chapter lol hope you liked it! That was a lot lol

\- Holiday


	9. Cooking

**Uzumaki Naruto**

Naruto hung off the couch, groaning. He’s been at it for the last hour and hasn’t been responsive to, well, anything. You tried a movie. You tried bringing him outside. Nothing. He wouldn’t move. All because Ichiraku would be closed for the next two weeks for remodeling.

“Naruto, calm down, Ichiraku isn’t closing forever they’re just remodeling. It’ll look even cooler when they’re open,” you sit next to him and try to console your distraught boyfriend.

“I’m going to starve...” Naruto groaned again. His eyes were glassy as he spaced out into the infinite abyss that is a life devoid of his favorite ramen house. 

“Ichiraku is my _life,_ (Y/N)!” He sat up to protest, “I can’t _live_ without Ichiraku.” He slumped down again. You sighed, frowning. _Geez, if only he could talk about me that way._ You thought to yourself. You grabbed him by the shoulders and brought him to an upright position, thinking of some way to cheer him up. You were about to suggest going out somewhere for lunch, but somehow you knew how that would turn out. You had an idea.

“You want ramen for lunch, don’t you, Naruto?” You asked him. His head lolled to the side, his face still in an expression of dismay.

“Yes, (Y/N).” He huffed.

“Then why don’t I teach you how to make ramen yourself? That way even when Ichiraku is closed you can still... Eat... I guess....” you suggested. His face lit up and he sprang off of the couch and onto his feet.

“ _Really? Hell yeah!”_ He grinned excitedly, “you’re the best, (Y/N)!” He tackled you in a grateful hug. You put your arms around him too, rolling your eyes.

“Okay, just go get the ingredients ready, Naruto.”

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

"Okay, Sasuke, you can have a taste," you waltzed into the kitchen, bowl of cookie dough in your arms. You took the spatula in your free hand and picked up a little dab of cookie dough. You held it out to Sasuke, who took your wrist, bringing the spatula to his lips to taste. His facial expression showed little to no reaction, as it always did. "So...?" you asked, waiting for some kind of response. He nodded his head curtly.

"Hn." You rolled your eyes, figuring that was as good of a reaction you're gonna get as any. You tasted it as well and thought it wasn't too bad either. You smiled to yourself proudly, leaving the bowl on the table to head to the kitchen and find a tray and some paper to finally stick the cookies in the oven. When you came back to the living room you found that the bowl of cookie dough was nowhere to be seen.

"...Sasuke." You almost frowned, but had to keep yourself from smiling. _So you did like it after all, huh?_ "Sasuke _,_ you're not fooling anyone, I know you're eating the cookie dough." You made your way to the couch to find Sasuke, spatula in hand, taking scoops of cookie dough out of the bowl and eating them. He stopped mid-bite and glared at you, a faint pink on his cheeks from embarrassment.

"W-what." his eyes narrowed. You couldn't stop yourself. You burst out laughing.

"Do you _want_ to get salmonella?" you giggled, "you're not supposed to just eat it raw like that," you put a hand to your forehead, an incredulous expression on your face.

"You can't stop me," he shielded the bowl from you, taking another bite. You took it from him.

"If you wanted to eat it that bad you could've told me and I wouldn't have had to go through all the extra trouble of making a baked cookies recipe. Or better yet you could've just bought edible cookie dough from the store." you told him matter-of-factly. He frowned as you sauntered to the kitchen, calling back to him before you turned to enter. "Oh, and don't blame me if you end up feeling nauseous!"

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

You were making some dinner for you and Gaara when you felt his arms wrapped around you from behind, nuzzling his face in the crook of your neck.

"You awake?" You smiled, and he mumbled a sleepy greeting to you. The two of you had a long day out and it exhausted him, so he decided to take a quick nap before dinner.

"Mmmm," he muttered something you couldn't quite understand, but you nodded anyway as if you did. His grip around you tightened ever so slightly as he nuzzled his face in your neck again. His half-lidded eyes were focused on the food you were making, and he grunted in approval. You laughed,

"Hungry?" you asked him. He nodded and muttered another unintelligible reply.

"Mmmmmhm." He turned his head and planted a sleepy kiss on your neck. Then another. And another. And another. He was peppering your face with little kisses all over, and you turned to hug him, giggling as the kisses kept coming. Soon the two of you were standing their in the kitchen, hugging each other, your arms around his neck and his around your waist. You tilted your head up to look at him. He planted a kiss on your forehead, then your nose, then finally your lips, kissing you slowly and sweetly. He pulled away and pressed his forehead to yours.

"Delicious." he smiled before turning away to the living room. You had a feeling he wasn't talking about the food.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

“Kiba!” You called from your kitchen. “I need some help kneading! My arms hurt!” You exhaled deeply, stretching your arms as you did. Kneading was so exhausting, and you weren’t afraid to admit you could use a helping hand. Kiba strolled into the kitchen.

“You _kneaded_ me?” He winked. You rolled your eyes, pretending to gag at his awful joke.

“Very fun, Kiba,” you stuck your tongue out at him. You felt an itch on your nose and rubbed it with the back of your flour-coated hand. “Just wash your hands and help me knead this.”

He did as he was told and you finally caught a break, hanging your apron and heading to the bathroom to take the first good look at yourself you’ve had since you started baking. Your face was covered in flecks of batter and parts of it were coated in light layers of flour like powder makeup. You washed it off and headed back to the kitchen where Kiba seemed to be finishing up.

“Done?” You asked, lifting your apron off the peg. Kiba nodded proudly as you headed back over.

“When are you gonna be done?” He asked with those puppy dog eyes as you set back to work, “it’s so boring when you’re busy.”

“I need to finish these today, Kiba. Just go out and play with Akamaru.”

“But you said we could go out today...” he frowned. Seeing that you gave no response he turned to be on his way... But he had another idea. He grabbed a handful of flour and threw it at you, the powder billowing and fading into the air.

“Kiba!” You gasped, “I just cleaned myself up!” Kiba wrapped you in a flour-y hug from behind, more flour floating around now, leaving the room in a white haze. You laughed as he nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, grabbing a small pinch of flour from the bag and throwing it at him. He gasped in mock shock before releasing his counter attack, and soon the two of you were giggling like children, running around the kitchen tossing flour at one another. Finally he tackled you to the ground, peppering your face with kisses. You didn’t bother stopping him, laughing as he did. The two of you calmed down, sitting up and looking at the powdery mess around you.

“Looks like you’ve got some cleaning to do, Kiba,” you smiled, getting up, dusting yourself off, and heading to the sink to wash your hands and finish what you had been doing.

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

It was staff appreciation week at Konoha High, which always ended with a big potluck in the teacher's lounge or all of the staff to indulge in. Kakashi, naturally, didn't really have the magic touch when it came to cooking up treats, so he had asked you to help him out rather than doing it all on his own. Luckily, this meant that he had signed up for the easiest thing to make.

You were more than capable of baking these cookies on your own, but the kneading and stirring kind of drained you, so you were glad that Kakashi had volunteered to help. It was kind of cute watching him do something so domestic and normal despite his mysterious, secretive front that he displays to the rest of the world.

You had just finished the dough of the cookies. All that was left to do was add the chocolate chips, stick them in the oven, and wait. You turned around to grab the Tupperware of chocolate chips that you had left on the counter, only to find that it was empty. That's funny, you had just bought the chocolate chips this morning in preparation for your task today, and you certainly don't recall eating any of them. You turned to Kakashi, who was reading his book on your couch in the living room, glaring at him pointedly.

"Okay, Kakashi, what'd you do with the chocolate chips," you said, unamused.

"I didn't do anything," he said sweetly, putting on his best innocent face. You rolled your eyes and made your way to the pantry to look for any substitutes you could use. You heard a _pop_ of a Tupperware behind you as you opened the pantry door, and you head snapped back, hoping to catch Kakashi in the act. Only you didn't and he was seated on the couch again, yawning as he read his book. You marched up to him, hands on your hips, leaning down so you two were eye-level.

Your glare was electric as you stared him down. "Kakashi, did you eat all of the chocolate chips?" He shook his head. You pulled his mask down. The corners of his mouth were stained with chocolate. _Aha!_ He grinned sheepishly, raising a hand to wipe it off. You grabbed his wrist, stopping him. You were pretty annoyed that Kakashi had just downed all of the chocolate you needed to use, but it was such an innocent little wrongdoing that you couldn't stop yourself from feeling the corners of your mouth tugging upwards into a little smile.

"I'll get it for you," you set his hand down, tilting his chin up and kissing the corners of his mouth. You tasted chocolate. It was a shame that Kakashi had eaten them all, they chocolate was pretty good, actually.

* * *

**Nara Shimamaru**

You walked out of the bathroom, stuffing your phone in your pocket and turned to head to Shikamaru's living room. You sniffed the air. _Something smells... Really good._ Your nose followed the delicious scent that was wafting through the apartment, and there at the source of the smell in the kitchen you found Shikamaru who was mumbling to himself as he prepared the two of you a dinner. You peeked through the open doorway, not wanting to startle him. This was new to you, you'd never seen him cook before, let alone show any sort of culinary prowess.

You stepped into the kitchen, the sound of your feet announcing your presence. "Shikamaru," you giggled, "what on Earth are you doing?" He shrugged.

"What does it look like I'm doing, woman?" he rolled his eyes at you, causing you to giggle even harder. You walked over to him, tiptoeing over his shoulder to look at what he was doing. You were, quite frankly, completely blown away by how good he was, but you couldn't show that surprise to him lest you wanted to tick him off.

"I don't know... I just didn't know that you cooked. At all." Shikamaru turned the stove off and plated his dish.

"Would you rather starve?" he remarked. You eyed the food hungrily. You weren't too hungry before but now? Now you were starving. You opened up a drawer to grab a spoon to taste.

"Shikamaru!" your eyes widened, "it's so good! What the hell!" Shikamaru had to hold back a smile. As much as he didn't want to admit it to anyone he loved receiving praise and it was all the better when it came from you. "Where'd you even learn to cook?"

He shrugged again, bringing his plate to the table. "My mom. She told me I needed to learn how to take care of myself when I moved to my own place so she taught me how to feed myself." You joined him at the table.

"Damn, well she taught you well!" you said, taking another bite, "is there anything you _can't_ do, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru had something on his mind, but he decided not to answer. There _were_ things he couldn't do. Not yet, at least.

* * *

**Sai**

Sai had just awoken from his nap, stretching and yawning as he strolled into the kitchen where you were hard at work whipping up some dinner.

“Oh, hello my (Y/N),” he mumbled lazily, looking over your shoulder as you stirred away at a pot. You were concentrating hard, you couldn’t afford to mess up cooking dinner. You nodded in reply. Sai rested his chin on your shoulder, rubbing an eye before giving you a kiss on the cheek. “What are you making?”

“Dinner.” You said curtly, returning your mind to the task at hand. Your mom had taught you this recipe before you had come to Konoha, and you were starting to regret not having written it down. You had been tasting it again and again and yet it just didn’t seem to have that same magic that it had when your mom made it. You sighed to yourself. _Maybe it’s just because it was mom making it, huh?_

Sai put a hand on the arm that was holding the spoon, pulling it in as a request to taste. You begrudgingly allowed him to try it, frustrated that you couldn’t quite replicate the dish your mom had taught you. You were pretty disappointed in yourself to be completely honest. Sai smacked his lips, his expression signifying deep thought. He tapped his chin.

Then his face lit up and he waltzed over to a cabinet, swinging it open, that signature Sai smile on his face. He dug through the cabinet before returning and handing you a little jar of seasoning. You opened it and sniffed it reluctantly.

“Try it,” he tapped the jar, “i’m sure it will be just the thing.” He kissed you once more before heading into the living room, undoubtedly to grab his art supplies and draw a few sketches of you at work. He loved capturing little moments like these in his art, and you found it quite sweet how he wanted to etch every single moment into paper, committing it to memory forever. In fact, everything he did for you was sweet, and you decided to trust him on this little recommendation, however insignificant it may seem. You added a dash of the seasoning. You took a taste of your dish with the added ingredient.

It was... _Perfect._

You took another tasted, astounded. “Sai, it’s delicious - how did you...”

You turned to look at Sai only to find him seated at the table, sketching feverishly, familiar the sound of his pen scratching the paper finding its way past the roaring stove and to your ears. You had a hunch you knew just what he was drawing. You smiled to yourself before taking two plates from the drawer to get dinner ready for the both of you.

* * *

 **A/N:** New chapter yay! I'm really sorry about how some were shorter than others aaaa I've been a little busy. I'll definitely compensate with the next chapter, promise! Hope you liked this chapter anyway... :)

\- Holiday


	10. Jealousy

**Uzumaki Naruto**

It was a wonderful night for a dinner, and also one of those rare nights when Naruto begrudgingly agreed to eat something that wasn’t ramen. You two headed to a local bar-restaurant and had a great time.

You were lucky that the both of you could get a table right by the stage, the two of you could just get lost in the music. The previous band had long since taken their bows, and a new musician, who was surprisingly young (he didn’t look a day over you and Naruto’s age) drew up a stool and hooked his guitar up to the speakers. He scanned the restaurant, eyes locking with yours. You thought nothing of it but, clearly, he had other intentions on his mind. You, with that single accidental look, had (unfortunately) completely charmed him and his cheesy musician heart. He started to strum a few chords on his guitar.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen... This first song’s from Bruno Mars, “Just the Way You Are”... I’d like to dedicate it to the lovely lady at table 7.” You looked around the room to see who the “lucky lady” was, but couldn’t seem to locate table 7. You turned to Naruto to ask him where that might be, only to find him grumbling, bothered by something. You realized that said “lucky lady” was you.

_“Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they’re not shining... Her hair, her hair,_ falls perfectly without her trying, she’s so beautiful...” Now he was looking right at you, smiling softly, “ _and I tell her everyday... When I see your face, there’s not a thing that I would change... Because you’re amazing just the way you are.”_ You suppressed a smile, finding it so humorous how cheesy it all was. Naruto found it anything but, gagging in disgust.

He glared coldly at the musician once he was done with his song. “(Y/N),” he said, and you turned to face him. He leaned over the table and kissed you - _real good._ You returned the kiss gladly, your hand finding its place on his cheek. To your surprise he slipped his tongue into your mouth, kissing you so sweetly you let out a moan of pleasure. It was soft - but just loud enough for the musician to hear. Naruto sat back in his chair after pulling away, leaning back and radiating pride. No songs were dedicated to you for the rest of the evening.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

“That’s everything he told you to get?” You ask Sasuke as he put a jug of milk into the cart. He checked his phone again and nodded.

“Looks like it,” he shrugged, pushing the cart to the cashier. It was one of those rare days when the grocery store wasn’t busy and there wasn’t a 3-cart line at each register. The two of you wisely decided to go to the register without a line, but you would quickly regret your decision. Sasuke went ahead to the end of the register to grab the groceries and move over to the bagging station and you were left to pay the bill with Sasuke’s card. Of course he was going to sign it, so you had to wait for him. You handed the card over to the cashier, a boy around your age.

He punched away at the numbers on the register, a bored expression on his face, the total amount flashing on the screen. “That’ll be 4800 yen,” he mumbled. He looked up to see you for the first time and his bored expression melted away, a smug and cocky one in his place. “... and your number.” He smirked. You frowned.

“Sure,” you said sarcastically, impatiently tapping your foot as you waited for him to take the card from you. He swiped the card. Much to your displeasure, he wasn’t done dealing his cards yet. He reached over to the shelf beside the counter, grabbing a pack of... Condoms.

“I’ll cut you a limited time deal - you give me your number and I throw these in for free.” You were nothing short of horrified, your face red with embarrassment and completely taken aback by how forward he was being. You were used to nonchalantly rejecting boys who tried to steal you away but _this_ was a whole new level of asshole-ery. Thankfully Sasuke was done, walking over to sign the bill. He had also just heard all of the advances the cashier had just made, and was silently seething. He signed the bill, wrapping an arm around you, staring daggers into the cashier who refused to back down. “You really want to go?” The cashier folded his arms, smirking, “I can steal her away from you just like that. When I’m done with you she’ll be on her knees for me.”

That seemed to be the last straw for Sasuke, who lunged and grabbed the cashier by the collar, who squeaked: “Okay! Or not! You’ve made your point!” He slid the receipt back to Sasuke, who noticed the pack of condoms the cashier was still holding in his hand. He decided he wasn’t done degrading with this guy.

“I’ll cut _you_ a limited-time deal. You _don’t_ get her number, throw those in for free, and I leave you in one piece.” He said, ever-cooly. The cashier hurriedly handed over the condoms. Now for the final blow. Sasuke smirked.

“Wrong size.”

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

You slid into the seat in the booth, patting the seat next to you for Gaara to take his seat. He shook his head,

"I'll order our food and come back." he offered, knowing you were exhausted from the walk here from home in the heat. "Extra fries?" You nodded cheerfully.

"Always," you beamed. He nodded and turned to head to the counter. You took your phone out and flipped through the photos you had taken of the two of you today. You couldn't keep yourself from admiring how Gaara's red hair glinted in the sunlight. Even in photos you just wanted to reach in and ruffle it around. You flipped through a few photos, stumbling across a few that Gaara had undoubtedly taken of you while you were minding your own business. They were rather unflattering, but the sentiment behind the photos was what mattered to you. You smiled, but your happiness was cut short as a stranger slide next to you into the booth. He put an arm around you, a gesture which made you wince.

He grinned at you devilishly, "hey there, gorgeous," his gaze was all over your body, starting at your face, to your torso, to... You didn't even want to think about it. You inched away, sliding further into the booth to escape his grasp.

"Do I... Know you?" you inched yourself away until you felt your body hit the end of the booth, but this guy was persistent and, clearly, oblivious to your _very_ strong desire to escape him. He slid in even closer to you, his arm wrapping around your torso and finding itself at your waist. He squeezed, and your frantically tried to calm your heartbeat down, which was hammering away and causing your breathing to edge into hyperventilating. You tried to use your knees to push him away.

"Aw, there's nothing to be scared of," he crooned, leaning in. You could feel his breath on your face. It stank. Now you were panicking. "I don't bite."

Just before he had the chance to close the gap between you and him, a hand slammed on the table from behind him. The stranger whirled around to get a good look at his challenger, and his eyes locked with Gaara's teal eyes, but those were no longer the gentle eyes that you knew - there was a silent fire burning behind them.

" _I do."_ he growled. The stranger decided it would be a good time to leave, and dashed away. You hadn't even realized your muscles were still tensed up and your eyes wide until Gaara sat down next to you, gently putting a hand to your cheek. "Did he hurt you?" he asked. You shook your head and he sighed in relief and you relaxed, emotionally exhausted from the stressful encounter and leaning into him. He put an arm around you, a familiar feeling, and kissed the top of your head.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

You held Kiba’s hand as the two of you stood on the train platform, waiting for the next train to come in. The two of you had just missed the last train, so it wouldn’t be for a while, but you two weren’t complaining. It’s not like you were in a hurry anyway.

“Kiba,” you squeezed his hand and he turned to look at you, “i’m thirsty, i’m gonna go and find an vending machine.” He nodded and let you set off in search of something to drink. You walked a little ways down the platform to the point where you could barely make out where Kiba was in the distance before you finally found one. Unfortunately for you, it was occupied by another boy your age. You didn’t care too much, taking this opportunity to dig through your bag to count out your coins. You were in need of 130 yen...

You heard the familiar sound of a drink falling into the dispensing slot of the vending machine. You still couldn’t find enough 10 yen coins. Frustrated, you fished the coin purse out of your bag, jingling it around to look for 3 10 yen coins. _Looks like I don’t have any... Gonna have to stack up some smaller ones in that case... Y_ ou jingled the coin purse around some more. You heard a second _thud_ of a drink. That’s weird. The guy was alone, why would he want two drinks?

You felt someone tap the top of your head and you looked up, your (E/C) eyes meeting those of a stranger’s. He handed you a drink, funnily enough, exactly the one you were looking for.

“Thank you,” You smiled politely, taking it from him. You held your hand with your coins out for him to take in exchange for the drink, but he shook his head.

“No, it’s on me. I insist...” you opened your mouth to thank him again but before you could you realized he hadn’t entirely finished his sentence, “anything for a cutie like you.” _Oh._ He leaned up against the machine. “Where you headed?”

“Home.” You avoided his gaze as he sized you up, hurriedly trying to stuff your coin purse back in your bag so you could yelp a quick farewell and get out of there.

“Where’s that?” He raised an eyebrow, his smile going from friendly to cocky. You tugged on the zipper of your bag. _Crap... The zipper’s stuck..._ You knew better than to anger a boy with your bag and coin purse wide open, you had to think of some response. _Come on... Y_ ou urged your brain and the zipper of your bag. Before you could resolve either, you felt a familiar hand spin your around and turn you to them.

Kiba grabbed your face in his hands and kissed you - hard. He pulled you in closer as he kissed you, slipping his tongue into your mouth. Your eyes fluttered open in surprise. _We’re in public, you’re doing this now, Kiba?_ He pulled away, leaving you breathless. You didn’t even realize the stranger had stormed away in anger.

“Kiba, what are you doing?” You asked breathlessly. He only sneered in the direction of the stranger.

“Marking my territory.”

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You sighed impatiently, taking a sip of your water, head resting on your hand, arm propped up on the bar. You hated being in bars but you didn't trust Kakashi to drive himself home after hanging out at the bar with Guy. _How much longer is he going to take in the bathroom?_ You huffed, your breath misting the glass. Kakashi told you he was accompanying Guy to the restroom after Guy had had a little... Incident. You decided not to ask him to elaborate.

"Hey, pretty little thing," a man sat himself on the barstool next to you, glass of beer in hand. You rolled your eyes as soon as you saw him. He was clearly drunk. You weren't about to humor him. He hiccuped, taking another swig of his beer, and it hit the table with a _thud._ "What- you're just gonna sit there and ignore me, gorgeous?" You took another sip of water, taking your phone out to see if Kakashi had texted you. Nothing. You crossed your fingers and hoped this barfly would leave you alone and move on to some other "pretty little thing" in the bar.

Unfortunately, he didn't. " _Hey, I'm talking to you,"_ he roared, slapping the glass out of your hand. It fell to the bar top with a crash, pieces of glass scattering and flying in all directions. You felt something scratch your face, and a drop of something warm started rolling down your cheek. You brought your hand up to your cheek and looked at your hand. Sticky red blood coated your fingers. You narrowed your eyes and held your ground, not about to give him the reaction he wanted. You were also wise enough to know that you don't further enrage a drunk man.

"I heard you the first time." You spat, flicking the blood off your hands onto his face. _God, I hate bars._ You thought to yourself hopelessly. The second your blood made contact with his skin he sneered.

" _Oh so you wanna play dirty, huh you little whore?"_ He lunged, and you tightened your fist, prepared to defend yourself. Before you needed to, the barfly was lifted up into the air by his collar, and you looked up to see Kakashi grabbing the squirming man by the collar of his shirt. His usual lazy expression was nowhere to be seen as the fire that was his glare practically burned holes into the drunkard's skull. The barfly cowered in fear.

"Hands. _Off_." Kakashi's grip on the man's collar tightened. The man squeaked and Kakashi dumped him back into his stool. He took you by the hand, a gesture you gratefully accepted, and made his way to the car, not even taking to look at you first. He just wanted to get you out of there.

You slammed the car door shut as you got in, Kakashi at the driver's seat. He turned to look at you for the first time since the altercation, his eyes widening for a split second as he noticed the blood on your cheek. He held your face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of genuine concern. You nodded, sighing as you finally relaxed.

"Kakashi... Just take me home."

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

You were waiting for Shikamaru to get back from the bathroom, so what better way to kill time than to wander around the library and check out what they had that was new? Your hands trailed the spines of dusty books as you weaved between shelves, periodically stopping to open one up to read a blurb or admire a cover or... Sniff the pages. You smiled fondly as you flipped through "The Great Gatsby", remembering your earlier high school days when you had to read it for class. _That was one hell of an essay I wrote._ You thought proudly.

"'The Great Gatsby', huh?" a boy of your age peeked over your shoulder, "classic. Great read. Fitzgerald's got a way with words." You shrugged, smiling as you shelved the book.

"Already ready it," you returned to the shelf to look for something else.

"You come here often?" he asked, scanning the shelf next to you.

"Kind of," you say nonchalantly, "mostly just to study. It's quieter here, less distractions. I like it." He nodded in agreement.

"Me too. But I've never seen you around here before. Why is that?" You shrug again, your eyes continuing to go from title to title, looking for a book worth your time. _Nope. Nope. Nope._ You thought. "Looking for something?" he laughed, watching you as you were hard at work looking for something to read.

"Kind of..." you muttered under your breath. Truthfully you were wondering what was taking Shikamaru so long, but yeah, you could use something new to read. You sighed. _Might as well._ You smiled to yourself, shaking your head. "Can't find anything. Got any recommendations?"

"Try Steinbeck. He's got some awesome stuff." he pointed to the top shelf. You frowned, but decided to try to reach it anyway, getting up on your tiptoes. He laughed warmly, lightheartedly teasing you, "you need me to carry you?"

"I think I'll be the only one carrying my _girlfriend_ thank you very much," Shikamaru walked up to you looking pretty fed up, putting an arm around your waist and pulling him close to you. Apparently while you'd thought he was spending a bit too long in the bathroom he was really watching the two of you from another shelf across the library where you couldn't see, and he didn't take too kindly to this guy warming up to you so fast. The stranger shrugged and walked away, and you turned to Shikamaru, smiling weakly.

"You know he was just being nice, right? He was probably kidding." But Shikamaru just ignored you and scoffed.

"Steinbeck." he rolled his eyes, "does his literacy expand to anything beyond 10th grade literature?"

* * *

**Sai**

You and Sai were spending a day at the mall when the two of you had passed an art store and, naturally, Sai was drawn to it like a kid drawn to a candy store. You didn't deny him the opportunity to go inside, smiling to yourself after seeing how genuinely excited he was. You chose to stay outside of the store observing the little displays in the windows of the stores. You felt a hand on your shoulder and turned around, expecting to see Sai. It wasn't.

"Sai! You're-" you stopped yourself, your smile falling immediately, "you're... Not Sai." You locked eyes with a boy your age, your heart squeezing with panic as he squeezed your shoulder, grinning. You tried hunching your shoulder in to free yourself from his grip, but that only caused him to hold onto you even tighter.

"Hey, cutie," he raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a hungry smirk. He turned you so you were facing him, both of his hands on both of your shoulders now. You held your breath. "Don't be scared of me, gorgeous, just give me your number." Your lips pulled themselves into a tight line, still holding your breath. Sai's confidence was sweet and kind. This guy's confidence... Was the exact opposite.

"No thank you..." You shied away from his hands, but he kept them firmly planted on you, like the two of you were magnets. Your eyes scanned the area in a panic - you wanted Sai to come back as soon as possible.

"Oh come on," he stepped closer to you, tilting your chin up, causing every muscle in your body to tense, "I'll show you a good time. Pretty girl like you deserves nothing less than a night with me," he laughed, a low, rumbling chuckle like thunder. _No, no, no..._ He was starting to close the gap between your faces -

"It's usually polite to ask for consent before putting your hands on a girl," the stranger was yanked away by Sai, who was staring at him pointedly, an unimpressed frown on his face. "But she's taken anyway." The stranger muttered something impolite under his breath before stalking away. Sai put an arm around you, his eyes following the stranger for a few moments before turning back to you, a smile on his face and kissing the top of your head. "Don't worry," he smiled, "I'm not letting anyone lay a finger on you, my (Y/N)."


	11. The Three Words

**Uzumaki Naruto**

( **A/N:** I just made up a random location in this scenario so let's pretend that there's a Konoha Castle okie dokie sorry for interrupting)

The days of spring were just around the corner and the cold days were ebbing away to make way for the springtime. You and Naruto went on a little trip to the Konoha Castle and were on your way back after a long day of exploring the castle museum and grounds to head home. The two of you boarded the bus and he dropped coins for both of your rides into the box at the front of the bus. Thankfully the bus wasn't too crowded today, and the two of you found two seats to sit in by a window.

Naruto sat himself at the window seat, wiping the steam off of the window to look outside as more passengers entered the bus - a family carrying their sleepy child, a few old couples who had come back to the castle to reminisce the old days... He took your hand in his, his thumb stroking the back of your hand as he observed the scenery from outside his window. You looked out the window at the other side of the bus, watching the castle fade into the horizon and give way to bare trees coated in a light layer of frost and snow like powdered sugar. Sunlight cut through the branches of the trees as the sun set, tucking itself in for the evening behind the mountains. You were lost in a daze, put in a trance as the colors of the clouds shifted from yellows to oranges to reds. Your daze was broken by Naruto, who nudged your shoulder.

You turned over. "(Y/N)," he whispered as not to disturb the other sleeping passengers. He tipped his head toward the window where you found something he had drawn into the steamed glass - a little heart and in it he had written "Naruto + (Y/N)". You giggled, leaning on his shoulder.

"Oh, Naruto," you shook your head as your giggles settled into a smile. He could be so cheesy but you couldn't help but adore it. Your eyelids grew heavy and began to close. He kissed the top of your head, letting go of your hand to wrap his arm around you.

"Sleepy?" he asked. You nodded, moving in closer to him to feel his warmth. Your eyes moved to the window to look at the scene outside through the frosty glass. You looked up at Naruto, whose gaze was fixed on you, a little smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "I love you." His breath formed little warm clouds of steam that rose into the air, his words lingering there. _I love you._ You turned your face kissed his jaw.

"Naruto," you breathed, your voice a low hum as your body was sending you off to sleep. The drowsiness had its hold on you, and anything else you had said came out as unintelligible. He hushed you, resting his head on yours.

"Shh, it's okay" he whispered, "I know." he smiled and you did too, ever so softly, to confirm his hunch. You loved him too. You knew that and you knew he did.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

Knowing that your boyfriend was more of the "cool" type, you tried to suppress yourself from expressing your little obsessions, but aside from being cool and collected most of the time, he was also observant. Yes, Sasuke wasn't really the kind to go to the museum, but seeing you talk so excitedly about the astronomy museum he _knew_ he had to bring you there. Anything that meant he'd get to see that look in your eyes you get when you look at something in wonder, or to see the way your face lights up when talking about something you loved. When he showed up to your door today, you expecting that he'd just take you somewhere he wanted to go, and showed those tickets to you, you had to force yourself to contain your squeals of excitement. He, on the other hand, had to contain a proud grin. He knew he'd made the right decision buying them, and after reading up a little on the museum website as he bought the tickets he had discovered a new exhibit that you didn't yet know about that he knew you were going to love.

"Sasuke," you giggled, "where are you taking me?" He said nothing as he led you up the stairs to the top floor. The very first thing he had done as soon as the two of you had gotten to the museum (and he had ensured that the two of you were the first ones there for the sole purpose of this) was to grab your hand and start leading you to who-knows-where.

"Don't ask questions. Just... Trust me." He made his way up the stairs and started to see the exhibit in question at the top floor. He stopped you, turning to face you. You looked at him, an incredulous smile on your face. "Okay... Close your eyes."

" _Sasuke_ ," you laughed, smirking. He rolled his eyes in mild impatience, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips.

"(Y/N)..." he said, "just trust me." You shrugged, closing your eyes, stretching out your hand for him to lead the way. He carefully led you up the final flight of stars, and walked you into the center of a large room, his hands over your eyes. He brought you to a stop. "Okay. Open." You opened your eyes and gasped.

You were in a dark, dome-shaped room, the ceiling dotted with tiny lights like stars, the faint projections of constellations over the star lights on the ceiling. Hanging from supporting threads so thin they almost seemed to be levitating were scale models of the solar system, the sun casting an dim orange glow in the room, and encircling the sun were the planets, slowly orbiting the sun at their own paces. No other visitors were in the room, the two of you were the first there, alone. The world outside and the museum melted away and you were lost in space, spinning around as you took in the splendor of your surroundings.

As soon as you were done drinking in the magnificence of what was around you, you turned to Sasuke, who had backed away so as not to obstruct your view, his hands in his pockets, the smallest of smiles on his lips as he watched you. Of all of the beautiful things in this room, _you_ were what he chose to watch. So far as he was concerned, even the majesty of the galaxy itself could not _begin_ to compare to you.

"Sasuke... It's-" but Sasuke stopped you, taking your hand in his and stepping toward you. He took your other hand in his, so he was holding both of your hands. He squeezed, a silent signal for you not to say another word.

"I love you."

Coming from his lips, those words carried the gravity of all of the celestial objects in this universe put together.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

(A/N: click the hyperlink at the word 'music' for immersion purposes if you want hehe :) also yes, Avengers fans, I **_had_** to.)

You and Gaara had decided to go for a day out and, of course, found yourselves back on the beach again. It was mid-spring, still too soon for you to jump into the water and splash around, but the ground was warm despite the sun long since having set, the moon casting a soft glow onto the sand accompanied by fireflies like fairies, dancing around the beach. Soft warm light from the road lamps trickled onto the beach as the two of you sat and listened to the water, your legs over Gaara's and your arms around him. A few other people had the same idea and were walking around the beach, some wading into the water and quickly regretting their decision, laughter cutting through the sound of waves as they dash back to their parties. In the middle of it all: you two, lost in your own little world.

Gaara ran his fingers through your hair affectionately, and soon the distant sound of [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chs2bmqzyUs) drifting over caught his attention. He stood up and looked out to the sea, his eyes closed as he listened to the music. He took a deep breath in, etching this scene into his memory - fireflies dancing to the music and the sound of the waves lapping the shore. He turned back to you and held out his hand. You smiled, taking it, and he pulled you up and down to the shore so both of your feet were in the water.

"Gaara-" he put a hand on your waist and one on your shoulder - a slow dancing position.

"Shh..." he touched his forehead to yours, fireflies like fairy lights flickering in the reflection in his eyes. You were lost in them. You put your arms around his neck, locking your hands there. The two of you were silhouettes against the moon as he started swaying, dancing to the music and you followed, the two of you weaving through the waves, not breaking the gaze you shared. There was a softness in his eyes, a sweetness that only you could know. As the music began to pick up for the ending he stopped, wrapping his arms around your waist.

"(Y/N)," he breathed, his voice so quiet you could barely hear it over the crashing waves and pounding of your heart. "I love you." You didn't hesitate to pull him by the collar and into a kiss. You felt a tear roll down your cheek and fall into the ocean.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

You set your slushy down on the table that Kiba had saved for both of you. "I got a slushy," you announced, pulling your chair out and taking a seat across from him. He looked up from his phone, stashing it in his pocket and laughed incredulously.

"A slushy, (Y/N)? _Really_? It's already so cold in here - you brought a jacket for crying out loud," he said in disbelief. You just shrugged, sticking your paper straw into the drink. "You're going to regret that," Kiba propped his head up on his hand, raising an eyebrow, "I _swear_ you're gonna get sick again, (Y/N), you're crazy."

"You can't stop me, Inuzuka," you made sure to make the point of staring him directly in the eye, unblinking as you took a big gulp of your slushy. You finished your sip, sitting up straight in your chair. "See? Nothing's happening to me. I'm fine. I _will_ drink this large slushy and nobody can or will stop me," you playfully punched him on the shoulder, "not even you, Kiba."

Kiba just rolled his eyes, laughing to himself as he watched you drink away. He was absolutely sure that you had just wasted a good deal of money on that slushy - you weren't going to finish it. He knew that at some point you'd give up trying to gulp down the freezing drink in the already freezing mall and hand it to him, but what could he say, you were stubborn. There was no changing your mind even if he tried to. "As you wish, (Y/L/N). I'm still absolutely sure you won't make it through that whole thing, though."

You glared at him. "Is that a challenge?"

"Only if you want to take it as one." he shrugged, grinning as he leaned back into his chair. You were now more determined than ever to finish this slushy. You slurped with all your might, and could feel the contents of the cup emptying. You were so ready to prove Kiba wrong. You could almost feel the cup draining when - 

A stabbing pain shot through your head. Brain freeze. You cursed, grimacing and thumping your fist on the table, trying to relieve your brain freeze. "Crap," you squeezed your fist, "That's cold." Kiba broke into fits of laughter, clearly very proud that he was right.

"Told you," he nearly fell over in his chair laughing at you, watching you wince in a frozen pain. He calmed down as your brain freeze did, and you begrudgingly slid the cup, leftover slushy still inside, across the table to Kiba in a surrender.

"I give up, it's too cold and too much," you grumbled, admitting defeat. He leaned over to meet your face, face so close to yours you could feel his warm breath.

"You're so cute," he laughed, his voice low and sincere. He tapped the tip of your nose with his finger. "Love you."

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You and Kakashi sat on a park bench as the sun went down, watching the children fly their kites and run around playing tag and the teenagers mill around and chatter excitedly about the latest hot gossip in school or cheerfully discussing their hobbies and pastimes. You held his hand and he looked down at you, smiling under the mask. You looked out to watch the scene again for a little bit before saying,

"I can only wonder what it must feel like to be one of those kids," you sighed. "I kind of miss it, being so young and carefree. Now I've got..." you shuddered jokingly, "Taxes and work to do." Kakashi rolled his eyes, but you knew he was still smiling. You've become adept at reading expressions in his eyes alone.

"I had a friend before, Obito," he looked out like you had, "we'd fight all the time but, you know, he was a good kid."

The two of you spent the rest of the hour just reminiscing about your younger days, laughing at each other's anecdotes, staring out at the children in the park with a sort of wistful longing. Eventually you couldn't stop yourself from making a quick joke.

"Look at us, Kakashi," you giggled, squeezing his hand, "we're like an old married couple," you rest your head on his shoulder, "sitting here talking about being young... We're not even old yet, we have our whole lives ahead of us." You smiled softly as you admired the sunset, streaking the sky with reds and oranges like ink blossoming on a wet page. You had always been uncertain of the future, always afraid of growing up. But sitting here now, the two of you in the sunset. For the first time ever you thought of your future and felt... Hopeful. Lost in your thoughts you didn't realize Kakashi hadn't said a word in response. No, he was just looking at you, a soft, sweet, yet contemplative look in his eye. He put an arm around you, drawing you in before finally speaking. 

"You know, I've been spending most of my adult life afraid I'd never find it," he kept his eyes trained on you as he spoke, his voice low and quiet, "but looking at you... Maybe I have." You looked up at him quizzically.

"Find what?" you asked, pulling your legs up onto the bench and over his legs so you could hug him. He smiled again, a twinkle in his eye.

"Somebody to love." Your heart skipped a beat and you felt an electrifying jolt shoot through your body beginning at your fingertips and lighting up your whole body. Your cheeks were warm and your mouth hung ajar, stunned. Kakashi didn't wait for a response before pressing his forehead to yours, pulling his mask down. He lifted your chin up to look at him, not breaking his gaze. "(Y/N)," his voice was almost a whisper now, "I love you."

He closed the space between the two of you and didn't part for a very long time.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

“Shikamaru....” you groaned, wheeling yourself around the room. “ _Shikamaru...”_

 _“Mm.”_ He grunted. He’s been typing away at that computer for the past half hour and you haven’t been able to get him away from it. He’s brushed you off every time despite your best efforts but he’s just been sitting there on the floor, a concentrated expression on his face, typing furiously. Every once in a while he would annoyedly drill at the delete button and shake his head. He was muttering under his breath. 

“Shikamaru... You said we’d go out today...” you rolled across the floor until you were in front of him, sitting down in front of him and pouting. “What are you doing?” You tried to take a look at his screen and he tilted it down so you wouldn’t see, “are you talking to somebody?”

“No, (Y/N), I’m not,” he sighed as you got up and paced around the room, “just... give me an minute and we can go...”

You left the room with a _hmph_ , wondering what in the world he could possibly be doing. Talking to someone would be the only explanation. He’s turned in all of his assignments for the semester - there’s no way in hell he should be busy and if there was something due he would’ve brought you to the library. He has to be talking to somebody, right? But why wouldn’t he let you see? Shikamaru wouldn’t hide anything from you, right? You bit your nails as you started to overthink, and were quickly interrupted by Shikamaru calling your name. Your heartbeat still quick and your teeth still chomping on your nails you made your way there. Were you going to confront him about it? Should you just leave him alone?

“Shikamaru...” you sighed standing in the doorway, but he cut you off before you could finish.

“Okay, you can look at my computer now,” he turned the brightness up as you sat yourself next to him on the floor. He put an arm around you and pulled you in. “I’ve been picking up programming and I...” he pressed the spacebar.

The screen cleared and a little red heart appeared on the screen, growing bigger and smaller, like it was... Beating. It repeated on a loop a few times before he closed the laptop. You giggled, this was so out of character for Shikamaru. “Wow,” you said between laughs. He smirked.

“What?” He kissed your temple, “I can be cute too. Sometimes.” You continued laughing incredulously,

“I can see that,” you couldn’t even look at him without laughing. You buried your face into your knees, laughing. The gesture was so _unbelievably cheesy,_ you couldn’t believe it. “Oh my God, Shikamaru...” you felt a tear roll down your cheek from laughing and you wiped it away with your palm, squishing your eyes with your hands to keep more hysterical tears from spilling. This whole time Shikamaru was just looking at you, a small smile on his lips. He wasn’t one to make impulse decisions and say things without thinking, but...

“I love you (Y/N).” You immediately stopped laughing, looking at him.

“You - you what?”

“You heard me,” he rolled his eyes, a smile still on his face. “Come on, don’t make me say it again.” You tackled him to the ground in a kiss.

* * *

**Sai**

It was another say out with Sai and you let him pick the place today. Today he decided he just wanted to go sketch at the place you met, a place you found yourselves frequenting quite often. It was a beautiful spring day and the sakura blossoms were blooming as you looked up to the sky from the branch you sat on in the tree, flecks of blue against pink. You squinted as streaks of sunlight streamed through the petals. Sai sat on his boulder, his brush gliding over paper as he watched you sit in the tree.

You looked over to him and he looked up from his sketchbook. You flashed him a smile, and he smiled back. He gazed at you with wonder, amazed at the way the brightness of your smile could rival the sun itself. He was in a daze, marveling at you. You tilted your head curiously. “What are you looking at?” He snapped out of his daze, shaking his head, his eyes glittering.

“Just you.” He got up, leaving his things on the rock, and stood at the base of the tree. He tilted his head, beckoning for you to come down. He held his hand out for you to take as you made your way down, easing you to the Earth. He wrapped his arms around your waist. “Something’s missing,” his face in deep thought for a few moments, he reached up to a low branch, plucking a sakura blossom off. He twisted it around in his hand for a bit before looking back down at you, tucking it into your hair. He brushed a lock of hair out of your face. “Perfect.”

You took one of his hands, holding it up to your cheek and nuzzling your face into it. He stroked your cheek with his thumb. “(Y/N)?” He asked. You looked up at him.

“Mm?”

“You understand that I love you, right?” His smile was gone, his expression one of genuine curiosity, his eyes so sweet you could melt but you were more surprised as the words he was saying. Your lips parted, mouth open in shock, you whispered:

“You - you haven’t really... Said that before...” there was a warmth in his eyes as your forehead touched.

“Well, I love you, my (Y/N).” His eyes were fixed on your lips, his thumb brushing your bottom lip before lowering his face to press his lips to yours.


	12. Time of the Month

**Uzumaki Naruto**

"(Y/N), I'm here!" Naruto opened the door, a bag of groceries in his arms. He kicked the door shut and took his shoes off, heading to the kitchen to set them down and unpack them. Pads... Chocolate... Hot chocolate... Painkillers... Sleep medication... _More painkillers..._ It cost him a lot, but he would do anything to make sure you were feeling okay, and this is everything Sakura had told him to get. He made his way to the living room, stashing a little bar of chocolate in his pocket for good measure.

"(Y/N)?" he called, stepping into the room. He found you sprawled out on your carpet in front of the TV, curled up in a ball. Sobbing. "(Y/N)!" he ran to your side, turning you to face him. "Do you need me to get you something?" He wiped tears away from your face, panicking. _Maybe it's time to get those painkillers..._ He thought, awaiting your answer. You just sniffed.

"I- It's- _why?"_ you bawled, facing away from him so he wouldn't have to see you cry. You sobbed, your tears bleeding into the carpet. Naruto looked up at the TV where they had just played an animal rescue commercial. A montage of sad dogs in cages flashed on the screen, all being nursed back to health after being abused so horribly and abandoned. Naruto had seen this commercial many times at home.

"It's just a commercial..." he tried to reassure you, running his fingers through your hair. You pulled away.

"People _suck!"_ you cried, tossing the remote at the TV. You weren't strong enough. It barely made it past 1 meter of you. You crumpled up into a ball again, weeping. Naruto figured there was no point in trying to get you to calm down. He pulled the chocolate out of his pocket, unwrapping it and handing it to you.

"Shhh..." he hushed you, and you took the chocolate eagerly, eating away. You were so grateful that he had thought to get the chocolate - your favorite chocolate - for you, that as soon as you were done you sobbed even more, burying your face into his shirt, tears blotting wet marks into the fabric.

" _You're the best boyfriend and I love you!"_ You cried, before crying even more. Naruto didn't really know what to say - he really wasn't used to this.

"...Thanks?" he said, a puzzled expression on his face. _This is so weird..._ He thought, and held you close, letting you cry until you couldn't cry any more.

* * *

** Uchiha Sasuke **

Sasuke gingerly peeked through the door of your apartment, stepping inside. "(Y/N)?" he called. He didn't get a response. He sighed, closing the door, remembering the words of wisdom that Itachi had told him before he had come to your place. He didn't have much experience with this, and to be completely honest he was worried. From what he'd seen online, what you were going through right now seemed far from pleasant. He heard a crash from the kitchen which immediately caught his attention. In a panic he made a run for it.

"(Y/N)?" he skidded to a halt in the kitchen doorway to find you on the floor, picking up the shattered pieces of a broken bowl. He grabbed a broom and dustpan, "I'll do it," he offered, propping the dustpan and broom against the kitchen counter to help you up.

"I'm fine," you said through gritted teeth, holding back your frustration. You bit your lip, chewing on it, biting back tears that were threatening to spill. _Why were you crying?_ Sasuke shook his head.

"You're not, you need to lie down." He took you by your hands, helping you up and bringing you to the couch, "just take a nap, (Y/N), I'll take care of everything." You lost it - you sobbed, burying your face into your pillow so he wouldn't have to see you cry, but the tears wouldn't stop. To his horror you just kept crying. He hadn't been prepared for this.

"(Y/N)..." he sighed, turning you so he could look at you. You sniffed and he carefully wiped a few tears from your cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

"I-I don't know," you whispered, curling into a ball, tucking your face behind your knees, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know," you whispered again and again in a nervous spiral. You were starting to shake. You didn't even know why. You were just _crying_. Sasuke worried for you, so he did the only thing he knew to do, sitting next to you, pulling you into a sitting position.

"It's okay, I'm here," he said, drawing you into his chest. You wrapped your legs around his waist, sitting in his lap. You pressed your ear to his chest, using the sound of his heartbeat to anchor you, steadying your emotions. 

"Thank you," you whispered. He kissed the top of your head and gently rocked you in his arms until you fell asleep.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

You hobbled around your apartment, clutching your abdomen. "Are you sure you're okay?" Gaara sat upright on the couch, on high alert. He hated seeing you in pain, and you knew this. You just didn't want to make him worry, so you sucked it up and tried your best to act fine when Gaara had come over, worried about you.

"I'm okay!" you put on your best smile, sitting yourself down on the couch next to him. Even Gaara could see the weakness in your smile, and it made him uneasy.

"I don't think so..." he muttered, his eyebrows knitting together in concern. Before you could even respond you felt a searing pain shoot through your abdomen, and you grabbed the fabric of your shirt, clenching it in your fist, turning away to grimace. "(Y/N)-"

"I said I'm okay, Gaara," you said, still facing away from him. You weren't okay. You didn't know how much longer you could keep this up. You curled up into a fetal position, sucking in quick breaths. You bit your lip. You definitely weren't fooling Gaara, who had watched Temari suffer through her period since she was 11. He put a hand on your shoulder, slowly easing you into a lying position on his lap.

"(Y/N). It's okay." he said, his voice low and quiet. He planted a kiss on your forehead and laced his finger with yours.

"I don't want you to worry about me," you whispered, your eyes sad. You hated seeing Gaara worry so much. He shook his head, squeezing your hand.

"I know what I'm doing, (Y/N), I have a sister." You could see the littlest of smiles on his lips. "And if you need me to go the grocery store," he laughed, a sweet, quiet sound, as he recalled the first time you two had met in the grocery store, "I'll know what to get you." You leaned up to kiss him - only you were too weak to prop yourself up. You feel back onto his lap with a yelp. He leaned down and brought the kiss to you.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

You were lying on the couch, Kiba on the floor next to you, the two of you watching the TV. As per your request, he put your favorite TV show on and was doing everything in his power to make sure you were doing okay and you had to say, he was doing a really good job of it. The two of you sat in silence, sharing a bar of chocolate when you felt a pain shoot through your abdomen. You instinctively curled up in pain, gritting your teeth.

"Ow, ow, ow," you cried, your legs tensing, not daring to move an inch in the case that it would trigger another cramp. Kiba turned around, holding your hands, but his eyes didn't show a hint of panic. He was collected and ever-cool. His hand rested on your abdomen, just below your belly button.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, rubbing it to soothe the pain. You nodded and he handed you a painkiller and a glass of water. You took both gratefully, gulping the pill down and sighing after taking a drink of water. It would take a bit of time for the pill to take effect. "It'll take a while for it to start working," Kiba put the glass back on the table, "but I have something I know will work."

You raise an eyebrow, smirking despite the pain. "Uhhh-huh." Kiba rested his chin on the edge of the couch, flashing you a cocky grin before lifting your shirt and planting a kiss just below your navel.

"I could kiss it and make it better," he smiled again, kissing the same spot over and over again. The pain started to melt away as you began to giggle,

"Kiba!" you cried out as you laughed, "that tickles!" He kissed you mercilessly,

"What, this?" he kissed you again, and again, and again. When he was done and had had his fun, he kissed his way up your arm, up your neck and stopping just before he arrived at your lips.

"Cutie," he whispered, a small smile on his lips. He pressed his lips to yours.

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

"Okay, Kakashi it's getting late, are you going home soon?" you asked from the couch. Kakashi walked in from the kitchen, book in hand.

"I will," he yawned, stretching, "not until you're asleep, though." Through the pain of your cramps you managed a weak laugh.

"Kakashi," you raised an eyebrow, crossing your arms "I'm not 5. I can tuck myself in for the night on my own just fine, thanks." Kakashi slid next to you on the couch, wrapping an arm around you. He pulled his mask down, giving you a peck on the cheek. You turned to look at him and he lowered his face, his forehead touching yours.

"But it's a man's duty to take care of his lady, isn't it?" He traced your jaw with his hand, ending his touch at your chin, tilting it up and planting a kiss on your lips. You smiled into a kiss and he felt it, kissing you even deeper. You suddenly felt a pain in your abdomen, and yelped, pulling away and clutching your stomach. You cursed under your breath, nails digging into your stomach as you waited for the pain to subside. Kakashi rubbed your stomach, worry in his eyes, "you see, this is why I'm here."

"Shut up," you rolled your eyes, "I'll be fine, I'm a big girl," you teased, sticking your tongue out at him. When the pain had subsided you got up to head to your room, legs weak from spending all day laying down. "Now I'll go tuck myself in on my own, thank you very much."

"Oh no you don't," Kakashi got up and swept you off your feet, carrying you in his arms. As he scooped you up you yelped, giggling, "allow me, my lady," He nodded, a playful smile on his lips.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Shikamaru soon learned that when you were on your period you got... Ditzy. When he got the text from you cancelling your plans for the day because of your period, he knew what he had to do and hit up the grocery store, stocking up on everything he had learned from Ino. He ran her instructions through his mind again as he opened your door, scouting the house to find out where you were. He found you sprawled on the couch, a hot compress on your abdomen, glassy eyes zoning out on the TV screen as you held the remote in your hand, absentmindedly flicking through channels.

"(Y/N)?" he announced his arrival as he entered the living room, to which you waved a hand from where you sat. Sitting up really fast made you dizzy.

"Shika~!" you grinned, your eyes closed as you turned your head so as not to have to watch the world spin around you as you did so. You opened your eyes a fraction of a second too soon, and the dizziness from the quick motion of turning your head was starting to set in. "Woooah," you dropped the remote to the floor and held your head in your hands, steadying your head. Shikamaru put his grocery bag down next to you, prepared for anything you were about to throw at him.

"How... How are you feeling?" he asked, brushing your hair out of your face. You stuck your tongue out.

"Bleh." you said, your tongue hanging out of your mouth. Shikamaru couldn't hold back a chuckle before he set off to work, checking the hot compress and refilling it with hot water, brewing you your favorite hot drink, setting the TV to your favorite channel, keeping chocolate on standby. You watched him speedwell to and fro around the house, the same determined look he gets on his face when he's focusing on his work on his face now. He finished his rounds and sat on the floor next to the couch. You rolled over giggling. Your eyes met and he looked at you expectantly, waiting for you to throw out a complaint or a request for him to fulfill. You just grinned.

"You're like my doctor," you tapped him lightly on the nose. He chuckled again, taking your hand in his.

"Yeah, I guess I am." you giggled again, wrinkling your nose playfully.

"My doctor who _looooooves_ me." Shikamaru rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Yes, (Y/N), your doctor who loves you."

* * *

**Sai**

You groaned, rolling over in your bed so you faced the wall, curling up into a fetal position. Your cramps were getting bad - _really bad_. You pressed your hands to your abdomen, crying out in pain, causing Sai to run into your room in a panic.

"(Y/N)!" His eyes were wide as he rushed to your side. He gently pressed a hot pack to your abdomen and you put your hand over his, pressing it there even harder. You grit your teeth as you felt another wave of cramps rolling in, sucking in short, sharp breaths to avoid crying out again.

Your room was littered with books on women's health that Sai, for whatever reason, had, but were you really surprised? It was Sai, after all. The whole scene - the books opened to random pages, haphazardly lying around on the bed, on the floor, on the desk, and Sai by your side as you cried out it pain - it was almost as if you were giving birth, not on your period. You had ensured him that you were fine, but as soon as you explained to him what was happening he had gone into full panic mode, running around the house to collect whatever remedies you had that he had read about in his books. You didn't argue, you knew he just wanted to take care of you.

In your concentration not to be affected by the pain, you felt a few tears roll down your cheek. First day cramps were always the worst. You curled up into an even smaller ball, tears streaming down your face. Sai went pale.

"(Y/N), are you sure you're okay? I hate seeing you in pain like this..." he brushed your hair out of your face. You nodded through the tears, not having the energy to give him a worded response. "Is it okay that I stay here?" he asked again. You nodded again. Sai lay down next to you, holding you in his arms so the two of you were spooning there in bed. He lay there in deep contemplation - he hadn't known his mother, so he didn't know what to do. He didn't know what would help, and that hurt because he had done everything he knew how to do - everything he had read from his books. So he did the only thing he felt could help and started humming you a little tune. This calmed you down a bit and you slowly started to doze off to the sound of his voice, a comforting rumble in his chest.


	13. First Fight

**Uzumaki Naruto**

"(Y/N), Sakura's just my friend, you know this!" Naruto sighed.

"Yeah, but when you go out for dinner with her without telling me it's _a little weird!"_ you cried. It was uncharacteristic of Naruto to go somewhere without telling you first, let alone going to meet up with a girl, no matter who she was to him. You sighed in frustration, in disbelief that he can't see why you were so upset with him.

"(Y/N) I don't get why you're being so weird about this," he rubbed his temples, "you're honestly giving me a headache getting all up in my business like this."

"Naruto, seriously?" you frowned, hands on your hips. "The two of you guys were alone, of course it's my business to know where you're at late at night when you're not returning my texts!"

"Yeah, it's like I can't have friends aside from you. It's annoying." he rolled his eyes and folded his arms. You threw your hands up in the air in exasperation.

"It's one thing for you to head out to dinner with her behind my back with no warning but it's another thing for you not to realize why I'm so upset about it all - Naruto do you _get_ _why_ I'm mad at you right now?" He blinked and stared at you dumbly.

"No," he said matter-of-factly. "I really don't and I think you're being real immature right now."

"Me?" you sputtered, "Immature? Are you serious- what - agh! You're _impossible!"_ you pulled at your hair and clenched your fists. You took a deep breath and decided you weren't going to persist. If he wasn't going to realize what you were so upset about then... Maybe it wasn't worth it. You fell silent and turned to go lock yourself in a room and cool down.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

You were over at Sasuke's place after a day out, but something was bothering you. Something that happened on your way over.

~~~

You stepped off the train with Sasuke, both his hands in his pockets as the two of you made your way down the steps to leave the station. Before the two of you could turn to exit, a piercing squeal rang through the station, making heads turn.

" _Sasuke-kun!"_ a girl squealed, and more squeals of the same nature followed until a horde of girls had crowded around Sasuke, tugging on his arm, cozying up to him, and batting their eyelashes flirtatiously. In the midst of the madness you were pushed away from him until you were out of the ring of girls encircling Sasuke, watching from a distance as they fawned over your boyfriend. You sighed. This was a normal occurrence, unfortunately.

" _Sasuke~"_ one girl sighed, "why don't you and I go on a date? I promise it'll be more fun than being with _her,"_ she gestured toward you. You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. You weren't about to let a band of pubescent teenage girls bother you, nor would you consider them actual competition for Sasuke. And yet...

This was such a normal occurrence and he never really... Addressed you. He just brushed them all off the same way he would often brush you off, really, that same bored expression on his face, rolling his eyes, waving an hand, a signal of dismissal. Now that you thought about it, how was the way he treated you any different than how he treated all these other girls? That same silent, "too cool" attitude, that same apathetic expression... Yes, Sasuke could be sweet, but those moments were so _rare_ that oftentimes you'd find yourself living only for that Sasuke who existed in those moments than you did the Sasuke that you saw every single day. It was... _Sad._

"No thanks," Sasuke brushed her off, "busy." He pushed his way through the crowd of girls, nonchalantly deflecting fangirl after fangirl until, to their dismay, he was making his way to the exit of the station. He turned to you. "You coming?" You shook your doubts off for the moment being, and followed him home.

~~~

"Sasuke," you whispered from the other end of the couch as he scrolled through his phone. He nodded his head, a silent indication that he had acknowledged that you had said something, but his expression indicated that he didn't really take interest to it or really cared. You couldn't keep yourself from wondering if he ever did. "Sasuke," you said, more firm this time. He looked up, that tired look in his eyes. If anything he almost seemed... Fed up. "Why do you never really acknowledge me when we're out together?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean," he said, "I do."

"Sasuke," you sighed, "when we're out I just don't... I don't feel like I'm your girlfriend." you frowned, "you don't bother holding my hand, don't bother even doing so much as looking at me in public!" Your voice grew more and more bitter, "it's like I'm just your 24 hour fangirl for you to entertain yourself with."

Sasuke looked up from his phone, a little bewildered, but, as usual, his facial expression didn't indicate much. There was silence. He didn't know what to say. You grew frustrated as your doubts made their way back into your mind, drowning out all rational thought.

" _Sasuke,"_ you hissed, " _what am I to you?"_

"...My girlfriend?"

" _Am I?"_ you got up from the couch and raised your voice. You were crying now. You put your hand over your heart and clutched at the shirt fabric over it, "you're only nice to me maybe once every blue moon if I'm lucky - how am I different from those girls we saw at the station today, huh? Or any girls we see any day, for that matter - am I just a _toy to you?"_

Sasuke frowned. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," he said flatly. You cried out in exasperation.

" _Just say it to my face -_ " you cried, _"because I_ **love** _you, Sasuke, but if you just want someone who's guaranteed to always love you for some **sick ego boost,** " _you spat, "I won't entertain those fantasies."

You turned on your heel and stormed away. You were going home. You had no intentions of coming back.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

( **A/N:** (Y/F/N) here refers to your friend's name)

Gaara had been silent ever since the two of you had come back from the mall where you had a run in with an old friend - a boy you used to go to school with back in elementary. The two of you had chatted up a storm, excitedly chittering about the good old days when the two of you would play around as kids, not a care in the world. Little did you know that Gaara was a little put off by the encounter, and couldn't contain how he felt about it all, so he chose not to say anything in the first place. He hadn't even been making eye contact with you since it had happened, and refused to hold your hand, choosing to stuff his hands in his pockets instead.

"Gaara," you asked, "is something wrong?" you reached into his pocket to take his hand, but to you dismay he waved your hand away. You drew in a breath of air, hurt, "Gaara-"

"I'm fine." he said, a steely expression on his face.

"Gaara - what - can you just talk to me?" you begged, you weren't used to him being this way. Gaara was always sweet and kind, he never pushed you away or dismissed you like this. You felt a little crack in your heart, a twinge in your chest as he refused to take your hand again.

"If it's talking you want to do why don't you go back to (Y/F/N)?" He hissed. You withdrew your hand, your eyebrows lowering in confusion.

"Gaara, he's just a friend-"

"Yeah, well you seemed to have a hell of a lot more fun chatting with _him_ ," he spat, his voice slowly growing louder and louder.

"Gaara, you can't be serious-" you retorted. This was so child-like - did Gaara _not_ expect you to speak with a friend you haven't seen in years? How could he be so insecure from a single encounter?

"I'm _dead_ serious, (Y/N)," he said through gritted teeth, his tone menacing and unforgiving, "well, I'm _sorry_ that I can't always be fun and exciting like (Y/F/N), I'm _sorry_ that I don't have all of the energy that he does. Clearly you were _much_ happier talking to him - for Christ's sake the two of you were probably _**eye-fucking** each other _the way you looked at each other!"

" _Gaara, what the hell!"_ you responded in disbelief. Gaara had never raised his voice at you like this. To be completely honest it made you a little scared, the way he got so wild when he got worked up. You were thinking of something to say to him, something that could calm him down, when to your horror you looked back at him and saw him raising his hand, drawing his arm back. You braced for impact, and flinched.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

"Kiba..." you sighed, "you've been at it for hours." Kiba sat in front of his PC, yelling into the microphone with Choji and a few of the other guys on the line. You leaned against the doorframe. He told you you guys would go out hours ago and here you guys still were. This has turned out to become a natural occurrence, sometimes it'd just be you and Akamaru taking walks together. You felt Akamaru walk up to you and nudge your leg with his nose. You sigh. " _Kiba."_

Kiba dismissively waved a hand at you, "yeah, yeah, I - CHOJI THEY'RE AT 3 O CLOCK, I'M GOING IN!" he barked into his microphone. You rubbed your temples with your hands. He gets real loud when he's playing. You didn't get it. Beside you Akamaru whimpered, nudging you again.

"Kiba, Akamaru's getting impatient, we gotta go," you tipped your head gesturing to Akamaru, who was impatiently spinning in circles. Kiba didn't seem to hear a word you were saying through his headset. You had a feeling you weren't going to get through to him and it made you pretty upset how easily he could blow you off. Maybe his games mattered more than his girlfriend. You rolled your eyes, feeling something bubble in the pits of your stomach. You gave Akamaru a pet on the head, glaring at Kiba as you addressed Akamaru. "Come on, Akamaru," you turned into the hallway, grabbing his leash from a peg, "looks like it's just you and me."

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You scrolled through your phone absentmindedly when you heard a ping and a buzz. Kakashi sat up from his position on the couch.

"Oh, can you get that for me?" you nodded, putting your phone down to take his. As you picked it up the screen lit up and another _ping_ sounded. You couldn't keep yourself from reading the text on the screen:

"see u tonight <3"

Your heart sank. "Kakashi," you said gravely, "who the hell is this?" He raised an eyebrow, his hand still out expectantly. He didn't seem to be reading your tone. You tossed the phone to him and he caught it in his hand. His eyebrows furrowed as he tapped away at his phone, not responding to you. " _Kakashi,"_ you said again.

"Give me a second," said through his mask he kept typing. You gasped incredulously - he _really_ wasn't even going to _try_ giving you a response?

"Kakashi, just tell me who that is," you were getting heated now - he was definitely hiding something from you, he would've given you a response by now.

"I don't know," he kept typing some more. "I don't know this person." You put your hands on your hips.

" _Sure, Kakashi, sure."_ who was coming over later? You felt your heart fall to pieces. You haven't even ever stayed the night with him before. You bit your lip and shut your eyes, taking a few deep breaths to try to calm yourself. " _Kakashi_ , who is it." You hissed each word through gritted teeth.

You had always been insecure about Kakashi messing around behind your back. He's in his late 20's, there's no way he could've been single that whole time like he said he was - he was too cool to have been. You knew that other teachers at school fawned over him. Hell, even some of his students did. There was just something about Kakashi, something about his aura that drew people to him, and it drew you in too. But you weren't naive.

"I told you, I don't know, just give me a second here, i’m working it out" he waved a hand at you, dismissing you. You could only wonder what it was he was doing on his phone. That was it for you.

You fell silent and didn't say another word as you turned to leave.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

It's been a few months since the big exam and today was the day that results would come out. Shikamaru came over and watched as you did nothing the whole morning but sit in the window, biting your nails as you waited for the postman to slip the envelope of fate into your mailbox.

"You're going to do fine, (Y/N)," Shikamaru assured you, trying to peel you away from your spot on the windowsill. You shook your head and bit your nails some more. You weren't going to budge. Then you saw it.

The postman had just left the building next to yours and was entering yours. Your heart started thumping in your chest, threatening to break out. Adrenaline coursed through your veins as you skittered to the front door, almost tripping over your feet as you did so. You heard the sound of paper crinkling as the postman set the envelope down on your doorstep. You flung the door open, grabbed the envelope, and slammed the door.

You ran into your room in search of a pair of scissors. You tipped over your pencil holder, pens and pencils clattering to and scattering the floor. No scissors. You cursed.

" _Fuck it,"_ you hissed, and ripped the envelope open with your teeth. Your eyes darted from line to line until you arrived at your final grade.

Your heart dropped. A "C" glared at you from the page. You felt tears willing up in your eyes as your hands started to shake. You bit your lip, hoping the pain of your bite would distract from all of the pain you were feeling inside right now. You had worked _so hard. For a C._ You started hyperventilating, considering the repercussions of this. You might not be able to attend university here in Konoha like you had planned - you'd have to move away. Your knees went weak and you crumpled to the floor.

"(Y/N)?" Shikamaru peeked through your door. He saw you there, softly sobbing on the ground, and ran to your side, "how- how did you do?"

Your hands weak, you dropped the letter and it floated to the floor. He took it and read it.

"I'm so sorry." He said, and you tasted iron. Blood started seeping from your lips. You were biting it too hard. Your fists were clenched and you were shaking all over. You were afraid. You were scared. You were disappointed. _So, so disappointed._

"You can't understand," you whispered. Shikamaru was good at _everything._ He didn't even need to _try_ for him to ace anything he put a pencil to. Never before had he struggled as much as you did, had to work as hard as you had, and for _what? A C? A one way ticket away from here?_

"I-" you flew into a rage and stood up, talking down on him.

" _No_ ," you spat, "Everything has always been so damn _**easy** _for you Shikamaru, you _can't understand_ what I feel right now! You couldn't even _**begin** _to understand. _Don't_ tell me everything will be okay - _it won't!_ _"_ you cried, tears from your eyes mixing with blood from your lips as you bolted out of the room and into the bathroom, slamming the door, your back pressed against it, and sliding to the ground. The tears kept coming.

* * *

**Sai**

You heard a crash and ran to the source to find your favorite custom-made souvenir cup on the floor, broken into a million pieces, Sai standing by, hand on the back of his neck. You gasped and desperately tried to fit the pieces together to see if it was still salvageable, but it was too broken - not even superglue could save it.

"Oops," Sai watched as you tried to piece the fragments together to no avail. "Sorry about that." You sucked in a deep breath through your teeth. This was a cup from the last trip you and your parents had taken as a family before they had left to the city for work, leaving you here in Konoha to build your life. That cup held some of your happiest memories and now it was gone.

"Sai..." you grumbled, sucking on your thumb which you realized had a cut in it from holding broken pieces.

"We can go get a new one," he offered. You shook your head.

"No. No we can't." you said flatly, not making eye contact with him. "This was a special cup, we can't get a new one." you pursed your lips into a tight line. "Jesus Christ, Sai..."

"I see," Sai muttered, "it was of sentimental value."

"Yes," you said firmly, picking up a piece in your hand. _To (Y/N) from mother and father_ the piece said. "it was of sentimental value," you hissed.

"You're upset," he noted. You laughed bitterly.

"Hell yeah I'm upset, Sai!" you yelled, squeezing a shard in your fist. Blood ran down your skin and onto the floor. You let go and stormed away, leaving Sai standing dumbfounded over the pieces of your cup.


	14. Making Up

**Uzumaki Naruto**

After five minutes of angry-crying in the room, you heard a knock at the door. You still weren't done.

"Naruto..." you muttered, " _not now_." Naruto knocked again, the annoyance in his voice from earlier gone, now replaced with sincerity and concern.

"(Y/N), please," he sighed. You reluctantly opened the door just a little, your hand on the handle in the case that he said something dumb again and you need to shut the door on him.

"What is it, Naruto."

"It... Wasn't right for me to get all upset at you like that," he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, avoiding your gaze, choosing to stare at the floor instead, "if you had done what I did I would've felt the same."

"Naruto it's not like I don't trust you," you chewed your lip, "it's just that you could have at least given me a heads up or... Responded to my texts..." You recalled the panic you felt, the overwhelming worry and doubt. "Sakura's your friend. She's mine too. It just made me uneasy."

"I know," Naruto's lips pulled themselves into a tight line, "It wasn't fair to you. And it wasn't fair to you to get mad at you." He looked up at you for the first time this conversation, his blue eyes brimming with regret, a request for forgiveness. "Can... Can I come in now?" You opened the door with a _creak_ , and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, pulling you in to his chest. He held you close and kissed the top of your head. "I'm sorry."'

"It's okay."

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

Sasuke immediately started following you to the door as soon as you turned to leave. "(Y/N)," he called after you. You ignored him, wiping tears from your face as you shoved your feet into your shoes and reached out to grab the door handle, but Sasuke was faster. "(Y/N)," he said again, more firmly this time. His eyes were narrow and he stared you down, but you weren't going to give in to his intimidation.

" _Sasuke,_ " you said through gritted teeth, "get out of my way." You tried to wrestle for the doorknob, but his grip was strong.

" _Please."_ you stopped. Sasuke never said that word. He never had to beg for anything - everything was just given to him on a silver platter by everyone. This only made you more upset, the fact that his usage of the word was so jarring to you, but you decided to stop to see where this was going. You folded your arms together, your lips in a tight line.

"What do you want," you said flatly. Sasuke paused and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut before speaking again.

"(Y/N), just hear me out," his voice was almost pleading. You nodded your head the way he did to you all the time, your own silent way of giving him permission to speak.

"This better be good, Uchiha," you muttered under your breath.

"Look, I'm not good at this stuff," Sasuke exhaled, "I've - I'm not -"

"Yeah. I can see that." you said in deadpan. _He can't even apologize._ You thought to yourself in exasperation. You were done. Fed up. You reached your arm out again to take the doorknob, only for Sasuke to take your hand in his. You stiffened your hand as he laced his fingers with yours, not returning his gesture.

"(Y/N) _please_ ," Sasuke squeezed. You didn't move your fingers. They remained tensed. "you're the first thing I've ever had to fight for because everything has always been easy for me. Everyone's been chasing after me my whole life, handing things to me at the drop of a hat. I won't deny that." You rolled your eyes, avoiding his pleading gaze. There was silence as he did nothing but look at you, his breath caught in his throat as his mind scrambled for things to say. One wrong move and he was losing this battle. He knew that much. "But..." After a few moments he spoke again, his voice level and calm, "I'd be willing to fight for you. Oh my God, (Y/N), I would. You - you're -"

His firm grip on your hand softened unexpectedly. Everything between you and Sasuke thus far had been him, a firm grip on you, protectively claiming you through silent commanding gestures, softness was very unlike him. The gentleness in his touch was enough to make you look back at him for the first time, as if double checking that the man in front of you really was Sasuke. Having caught your attention, he fixed his steady gaze on you. The next few words he was certain of.

"You're worth fighting for."

Your hand slowly closed around his.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

" _Gaara, what the hell!"_ you responded in disbelief. Gaara had never raised his voice at you like this. To be completely honest it made you a little scared, the way he got so wild when he got worked up. You were thinking of something to say to him, something that could calm him down, when to your horror you looked back at him and saw him raising his hand, drawing his arm back. You braced for impact, and flinched.

Only his hand landed in his hair, raking it back with his fingers. He turned to look at you and saw you - eyes screwed shut, muscles tense, hands up to protect your face. He felt something in his chest crack as he watched you, protecting yourself... From him. All jealousy and insecurity disappeared as he looked at you in sheer shame and horror. He fell silent. You opened your eyes, (E/C) meeting teal. Where there was once anger and jealous rage there was now fear and shock. His lips were parted every so slightly as his sad eyes looked at you. You didn't move your arms from where they were. You didn't relax your muscles. You didn't dare move a muscle.

"(Y/N)," his voice was a hush now. He refused to ring it above barely a whisper, speaking as if you were a bird that would fly away at the slightest sound. He gently took your hands in his, his touch so light and delicate he was barely holding you at all. You let your hands relax. "did you think I was going to-" his voice broke. You could see tears welling up in his eyes.

"No, I-"

"(Y/N)," he slowly laced his fingers with yours. His touch was gentle and slow. "are you afraid of me?" his tone was heartbreaking. "Did you really think I was going to hit you?"

You said nothing. The two of you just stared at each other. You didn't know what to say. You could felt as if something was stuck in your throat - the threat of tears. You said nothing and let his hands go, wrapping your arms around him and sobbing softly into his shirt.

"I'm so sorry," you whispered against his shirt. After a few moments you felt him gently wrap his arms around you, uncertainty in his touch. You tightened your embrace and he did the same. He buried his face into your hair.

"No," he said, "I'm sorry." He nuzzled his face into your hair, memorizing the scent. He kissed the top of your head. "I would never hurt you (Y/N). I could never lay a finger on you in a way that was meant to hurt you. Never." You lifted your head to look at him, tears streaming down your face, cheeks sticky from the tears.

"I love you," you said softly. He stroked your cheek with his thumb, wiping a tear away. He leaned down and softly pressed his lips against yours.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

As the sun began to set you and Akamaru made your way back to Kiba's. Akamaru was now his usual self, waddling around the house happily, but you were still pretty upset. You wondered if Kiba had even finished playing by now. You sighed as you pressed the elevator button and the elevator _dinged,_ the two of you ascending to the fifth floor. You arrived at Kiba's doorstep, squatting down and taking a pack of wet wipes out of your bag to wipe off Akamarus paws before taking your key out and twisting it in the lock. The door opened.

Kiba stood in the doorway, changed and ready go head out. You raised an eyebrow, still not having forgiven him for earlier.

"Kiba, where are you going?" you frowned. What if he was off to go hang out with his friends after a whole day of ignoring you? That'd be rich. Akamaru made his way inside, pushing you closer to Kiba as he did.

"Well," Kiba took your hand in his. You begrudgingly accepted. You were still holding a bit of a grudge on him for earlier, and you intended to make this clear in the way you took his hand. You avoided all eye contact with him. "I was thinking about earlier. I'm really sorry."

"Right." you rolled your eyes, "sure you are." Kiba put a hand on your cheek, bringing his forehead to yours.

"I am. Really. What I did not fair to you at all. So..." he grabbed his keys, "we're going out for dinner. Somewhere nice. It's on me."

"Really?" you were softening a little. He could sense it. He took your hand and led you to the elevator.

"Now come on, it's so fancy I even had to reserve a table."

~~~

( **A/N:** this is unrelated to the overall chapter but I wanted to include it here anyway haha)

Ever since the incident, you had secretly got yourself a steam account where you bought the game that Kiba had been playing with his friends and... Well... You were _good._ You had tried to hide your little hobby from Kiba, especially considering the only reason you had started playing was to spite him, but he quickly found out what was going on when he started noticing your judgmental frowning in the reflection of his monitor as he chose to use certain attacks and pick up certain items over others. Before too long the two of you had other things to fill your days together with, and it definitely made rainy days indoors more interesting.

You and Kiba were in the middle of a game when there was a knock at the door. You knew just what it was. You had been expecting it for a while. As soon as the game had ended and you were waiting for the next match, you got up to go fetch it.

You brought a small box back into the living room and cut it open with a knife. "What's that?" Kiba asked, walking over to see it.

"New headphones," you said. Kiba couldn't help but smile. It was so funny how you were now so invested in the game. He realized why you were so excited as soon as you pulled the headphones out of the box and put them on. "They've got _cat ears?_ _Really?"_ he smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Now you're really just doing this to spite me."

"Of course I am." You flicked one of the cat ears at the band of your headphones, sticking your tongue out at him playfully. He rolled his eyes and kissed your nose.

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You turned to leave when Kakashi finally got up, put a hand on your shoulder and you turned around to see a relaxed smile on his face as he held his phone up. "Wrong number, see?" He twiddled the phone around in his hand, directing your attention to a series of texts between him and the person.

_Kakashi: Who is this?_

_Unknown: Hiroki?_

_Kakashi: No not Hiroki_

_Kakashi: Sorry, I think you have the wrong number miss_

_Unknown: Ah, sorry about that._

_Unknown: It's sir by the way_

_Kakashi: Oh whoops sorry_

_Unknown: No worries sorry for bothering u_

"Nothing to worry about," he ruffled your hair, but your face was still flushed and red, a frown on your face. He put the phone in his pocket as he noticed your expression, freeing up his hands so he could put them in yours. "Everything okay (Y/N)?" You chewed your lip in frustration, not making eye contact with him. You just threw a fit over nothing. You felt really stupid right now. But those feelings weren't "nothing". No, if they were there they were real. And they needed to be addressed. Something had to be said about them.

"Kakashi," you sighed, "I..." You didn't have to finish your sentence for him to know what was and had been on your mind. It was like he could read every thought you had. He held your chin in his hand, turning your face to look at him. You kept your gaze to the ground.

"(Y/N)," he reassured you, "you don't need to worry about me running off with anybody. I promise." He brought his forehead down to yours. You were looking at him now. You sucked your lips in, you were almost ashamed that you had any insecurities about it at all - looking into his eyes you could see nothing but reliability, honesty, loyalty, promises. Everything in the way he held you, looked at you, touched you, they all told you you were the only thing he could ever love.

"I'm sorry for being so mad," you whispered.

"I don't blame you," he said, his voice low. "I would have been mad too." His lips brushed against yours ever so slightly. You leaned forward and finished the kiss.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

You washed your face, wiping blood and tears away until the taste of salt and metal was no more. You looked in the mirror. Your eyes were puffy and your nose and cheeks red. Despite your body having just been freshened up you head was still swimming. You must have dehydrated yourself from all that crying, you couldn't even cry anymore. Your hands were still trembling. You put your back against the door and slid down, trying to control your breathing. There was a knock at the door.

"(Y/N)?"

You didn't answer it. You tried to tune out the sound of his knocking and voice as you tried to calm yourself down, tried to clear your head. Now wasn't the time to worry about your boyfriend - it was time to worry about your life ahead of you. Where were you going to go? What were you going to do?"

Outside on the other side of the door, Shikamaru had given up on trying to get you to open the bathroom door. He pressed his own back against the door, sliding down to sit so the two of you were back to back, separated by the door. He decided to talk to you through the door, regardless of if you were going to listen or not. "(Y/N)," he looked up to the ceiling, "you're right. I don't know what you feel like. Not in this case at least." He paused. "You're right - everything in terms of academics has always been more or less easy for me. There's always a solution to every problem and a way to think things through. They'll never give you a problem that can't be solved." You rolled your eyes, wiping snot away from your face. _Gee, thanks. That makes me feel so much better._ "But what's not easy is watching you hurt like this. It's not easy at all. And in life not everything will have a solution or a strategic way to figure things out. I'm just..." He was looking for the right words to say. "I'm scared. Scared that maybe you will be the first problem that I can't solve - and I don't want to lose you." You said nothing. Shikamaru took that as your answer. You listened as he got up outside and you opened the door, peeking through, watching him turn to leave. Just before he did, you reached your hand out through the door and took his hand. He turned and looked at you.

You said nothing as you pulled him close to you. You wrapped your arms around him and stayed there for a long time. 

* * *

**Sai**

"(Y/N)?" Sai stepped into your bedroom where you lay on your bed, staring at the ceiling. You turned your head to look at him.

"Sai..." you didn't want him to be here - you didn't want to be mad at him. God, you didn't want to be mad at him. It's not like he did it on purpose, could he ever do anything capable of hurting your feelings on purpose? His sickeningly sweet voice from your door was enough to make your stomach squeeze in guilt from raising your voice at him. It was like yelling at a puppy. "I'm sorry..."

Sai sat at your bedside, taking a hand in yours. You stared at the wall. He squeezed your hand and brought it to his lips. "It was an accident..." he whispered as his lips parted from your hand. Your stomach twisted again.

"I know," you whispered, still staring at the wall. If you had to look at him you knew you'd cry again. Just the sound of his voice full of regret and guilt was enough to make you feel terrible. "I'm sorry I raised my voice at you, I should have just -"

"No," Sai shook his head. "it helped you get your anger out. It's okay. You need places to release your emotions."

"But Sai -" your voice broke. You felt awful. This felt awful. "There are many different ways to release negative emotions, ways that are much better than having to take it out on somebody else."

"But feeling upset is okay-" Sai tried to defend you again, but you persisted,

"Yes, it is." you agreed with him to quiet him down. The tone of your voice told him it was your turn to talk. "but relieving your anger, sadness, and frustration should never come at the expense of somebody else. I'm sorry." Sai turned your head to look at his sad eyes. You knew he never wanted to tell you you had done wrong. But you insisted in the way you spoke. This was your mistake.

"I forgive you," he whispered. You sat up and wrapped your arms around him, holding him like it was the first time.


	15. Date

**Uzumaki Naruto**

( **A/N** : (Y/F/M) is your favorite movie!)

You glance boredly out the window, the sound of the radio slowly beginning to crackle as the two of you drove your way into the thick of what appeared to be a forest. The sun began to set over the treetops, painting the sky a deep orange. "Naruto where are we going?" you ask at last. You've been driving for what must have been half an hour now, far beyond the city.

"I told you," he tipped his head toward you, not taking his eyes off the road, "it's a secret." The smile on his face indicated that he was really proud of something, but what about you did not know. He refused to tell you anything about where in the world he was taking you, but you decided to trust him.

Just a little over half an hour ago when the sun was still hanging high in the sky Naruto had showed up at your doorstep, you prepared for whatever it was he had in mind. He simply told you that this date was "gonna be so good it was going to knock your socks off" and with that, he had grabbed your hand and the two of you got into his car, him happily humming to the radio as you set off away from your place. But as soon as the two of you had long since passed the city area you were beginning to wonder what in the world it was this boy had in mind. At every request to have some idea of where it was you were going he had just smiled, snickering to himself as he went "secret!" like a child who had just learned a juicy piece of gossip he was told not to spill to his classmates on the playground. You shrugged, lips curling into a quiet smile as you shook your head in response. The trees began to thin out as he drove down the road and into a clearing.

It was a wide expanse of flat land occupied by a few other cars, each a good distance apart from the other and parked into rows, the trunks of each car open and facing a large projector screen. The two of you passed a large sign illuminated in the twilight by bright lights - "Drive In Theatre" it read. Under it another sign, "NOW SHOWING: (Y/F/M), 6:00 PM". Your head whipped around to Naruto as you tried to keep yourself from shrieking.

"No way!" you gasped. Your eyes lit up with excitement and Naruto could only wish he could turn around to see your expression.

"It's been a while since I've taken you on a proper date, so I hope this'll do." He parked the car at a vacant spot - you would like to say it was the best spot in the whole theatre but with the sheer size of the screen any spot in the whole clearing could be ideal. You hopped out of the car but Naruto had beat you to the trunk.

"Don't think I'm going to let you open the trunk without me after all the work I put into it," he leaned against the door, a smug smile on his face. He opened the door. It appeared he had been well prepared. A mattress covered in blankets filled the trunk of the car, pillows lining the edges of the trunk, as well as a basket of snacks and drinks tucked away in the corner. To top it all off he flicked a little switch in the corner, turning on a string of battery-powered fairy lights that lined the ceiling of the car.

"Oh my God, Naruto-" he kicked his shoes off and jumped into the trunk.

"You getting in or what?" he lay down, propped up on his elbows. You joined him, taking your own shoes off and sitting beside him. He sat up, picked you up to sit in his lap and wrapped his arms around you, resting his chin on your head. Reaching behind him to grab a snack, he placed a bag of chips on your lap and opened it up, which you began to eat gratefully. The sky was completely dark now and dotted with stars, the only light in the clearing being the glow of the screen and the fairy lights in the car. You were thoroughly impressed that Naruto had managed to pull this kind of stunt off.

"Naruto-" you look up to him to say something, but he just kisses your forehead and puts a finger to your lips to silence you.

"Shh," he said, grinning, "the movie's starting!" 

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

You had been minding your own business, enjoying your day at the aquarium with Sasuke. It had been very pleasant - ever since your first fight Sasuke made the point of showing you you were his in public through gestures besides chiding and putting down anyone who tried to approach you, but now through sweeter gestures, though he still rarely addressed the fact that he was doing them. Yes, the icy, stone-cold Sasuke was indeed warming up to you in front of people now. It was, after all, just another way to ensure that nobody got any ideas. He took your hand and laced his fingers in yours as the two of you stood at the ticket booth, counting the money in his free hand. He put his arms around you when the two of you visited the arctic animals exhibit after noticing that you had started to shiver from the sudden drop in temperature, wrapping you in a warm embrace, chin resting on your head, and held your hands to keep them warm for good measure. He draped an arm over your shoulders when the two of you went to buy snacks. Yet he never really addressed the fact that he was being so sweet. He just let it happen and pretended it didn't. You weren't complaining at all, noticing a significant increase in dirty looks thrown your way by jealous girls and thrown his way by jealous boys. You were glad.

Sasuke held your hand as the two of you stood in front of one of the many fish-tanks in the room, this particular one containing a number of vividly yellow fish darting around their little enclosure, weaving between seaweed stalks and in and out of anemones, when all of a sudden you heard a _thunk!_ in the back of the dark room, illuminated only by the faint blue, green, and red glow of fishtanks. You turned your head around to see a child happily bounding away from a claw machine, penguin plushie in hand.

You let go of Sasuke, making a beeline to the claw machine. You _had_ to win that penguin. Sasuke, having realized that you were no longer holding onto him, turned to notice you were gone, and in momentary confusion looked around the room, squinting around to see if he could make out your outline against the fishtanks. He heard a familiar voice hiss a curse under their breath not so far away from him, and immediately knew it was you.

_"Shit!"_ you hissed as the claw opened up and the plushie bounced just outside of the box. You fished out a few more coins and put them in, determined to give it another shot and win that penguin. You lost again. You pressed your face up to the plexiglass, staring at the penguin longingly before you inserted two more coins into the machine. Sasuke, who was finding this unreasonably amusing, stood just behind you, watching you try again and again to win the plushie to no avail.

"You're doing it wrong, (Y/N)," he said at last. You turned around and rolled your eyes at him. "Look at you, you've already wasted 800 yen."

"Like you would know, Uchiha," you said, staring him dead in the eye as you slid more coins into the machine. You lost again. You cursed under your breath. Sasuke smiled to himself, striding up to the machine and putting in his own coins into the coin slot.

"Watch, (Y/N)," he said confidently, and put his hand on the joystick, his fingers moving deftly as he moved the joystick around. You scoffed. There was no way Sasuke was going to win it on the first try. You were certain of it.

"You're not going to get it," you informed him. Sasuke turned to you, raising an eyebrow, before hitting the button with two fingers. The claw dropped from its position, grabbing a plushie. It then moved over to the box, dropping the plushie down. _Thunk!_ it went as it hit the dispensing slot. Sasuke took it out, handing it to you, a smug smile on his face.

"Sure about that?" You frowned, displeased that you had wasted so much money while he only needed one try. You took it from him, wrapped your arms around it, and made the point of not holding his hand again in a petty form of protest as the two of you walked to the next room of fish. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at your little tantrum, you were acting like such a child after having been defeated. As the two of you stood in front of another enclosure, you, face still frowning, pointed at the ugliest fish in the tank. You turned to him.

"See this fish?" you huffed annoyedly, "it's you. It's ugly."

Sasuke could only laugh before he raised his hand up and poked your forehead.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

Spring was now in full swing, and you were determined to take advantage of it. After seeing how excited you were about the sudden blossoming of flowers and budding of the trees, Gaara had an idea. He had brought you to the nearby flower fields, where they were allowing guests to pick flowers as they pleased to take home. You had known where he was taking you, but seeing the rolling fields of flowers all you could do was stand and stare.

"It's... It's beautiful," you stood there at the gate of the fields, mouth ajar as you watched guests mill around the rows of tulips of red, orange, and yellow, standing against the green hills like wild flames. Gaara felt your hand soften in his as you admired the field in awe, and looking at the expression on your face he knew he picked the right place for today.

"You haven't even stepped inside yet," he pointed out, unable to take his eyes off of you. Your eyes twinkled with wonder, a sparkle only highlighted further by the warm sun hitting your face - you were practically glowing. He nudged your shoulder with his and led you forward and into the field, taking care not to step on any flowers or stray off the path. He took the lead and you couldn't help but smile to yourself as you noticed the color of his hair almost resembled that of the tulips in the fields. He kept a firm grip on your hand as he walked, finally settling at a spot a little ways away from the crowds of families that were gathering at the entrance and the buzzing photographers, capturing images of their models undoubtedly for the internet. Gaara let go of your hand to turn and admire the field for himself. It really was wonderful.

You crouched down to get at eye-level with a flower, a beautiful orange tulip basking in the spring sun. A light breeze blew by and it danced in the wind, bobbing to the left and right. You wondered if flowers could understand their own beauty. You giggled, "look at you," you addressed the flower softly as not to alert anybody nearby that you were speaking to a flower, "it's amazing that you, something so beautiful, can be so unaware of how pretty you are." You smiled softly, fingers lightly brushing the soft petals of the tulip. Little did you know that as you conversed with the flower Gaara had finished his admiration of the fields, and after plucking a few flowers for himself, had turned around to look at you.

There you were, crouched down, empty basket by your side on the Earth. The corners of your lips tugged up into a delicate smile, your lashes fluttering shut as you smiled at your flower companion. There was a light flush in your cheeks from the warmth of the sun, which was bathing you in light, your skin almost appearing to glow in the sunshine. You just radiated warmth and happiness in that very moment, your skin glowing with sunshine like a halo. He watched you, not daring to say a word and break your happiness, before finally walking over and tapping your shoulder. You stood up, picking up your basket, and he stepped forward, his forehead against yours. You were astounded at how the color of his eyes could rival the grace of the blue of the sky. He smiled ever so softly, and brought the few flowers he had collected into your free hand.

"Angel," he whispered. You didn't say a word, you could only stare deeper into his eyes and feel the rhythm of his breath on your face. He pressed his lips to yours.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

"If I fall and break my leg you're paying my bills," you told Kiba as you laced up your roller skates. Your hair started falling in your face as you did, and you struggled to multitask between pushing your hair away and lacing up the skates. Kiba stooped down to his knees, tying them up for you. When he was done he looked at you, winking.

"First of all," he said, "you know I don't have that kind of money. The leg's gonna have to go. If you break your leg you'll just be the hottest amputee there ever was," this made you roll your eyes, smiling at his dumb comment. "Second," he got up and extended his hand, which you took in yours, "if you fall I'll catch you." He pulled you up to your feet, holding your hands as he pulled you over to the gate of the roller rink, and leading you inside. You held the railings on the side as you awaited for him to do up his own laces, and he joined you, skating forward.

"Kiba!" you yelled after him, "you know I have no idea what I'm doing, right?" But Kiba didn't seem to hear you, as he disappeared into the crowd of skaters, confidently weaving his way between people. He kept his eyes on you as he performed a few tricks. You rolled your eyes. "Now you're just showing off." He made his way around the whole rink and skated back to you as you remained holding on desperately to the sides of the rink.

"Come on, babe, just try it," he grinned. You nodded and gingerly let go of the side. You waved your arms around wildly as you tried to find some sense of balance and pinpoint your center of gravity into... Well... One point. When you finally got the hang of standing up you looked at him expectantly, waiting for some kind of instruction. All you saw was Kiba, standing there watching you, an unwavering smile on his face as he watched you fumble around on your skates, absolutely zoned out. All he could think about was how cute and funny you looked trying to accomplish the simple task of standing. You cleared your throat.

"Oh," he snapped back into attention, skating over to get closer to you. "Here," he took one of your hands and started skating forward, "I'll just let you get the hang of moving around." You took his hand as he skated, his grip on your hand firm and tight, ensuring that he wouldn't let you go. He moved at an even pace, just enough for you to get used to rolling around. When he had made a full round with you, you decided to give it a try. "Not so bad, right?" he encouraged you.

You lifted one of your legs, and brought it down, pushing your other leg back and lifting it. You did the same thing again. And again. And again. Before you knew it, you were actually skating. "Oh my God," you laughed in disbelief as you moved forward on you own, "Kiba! Kiba I'm doing it!"

"(Y/N)!" you heard Kiba call, a smile in his voice as he watched you proudly, "hell yeah that's my girl!" He skated up to you and alongside you, and you turned and were immediately caught off guard by his smile. It just lit up his whole face - everything from the twinkle in his eye to the wide grin on his face, it all radiated pride. In you. You smiled back, but before you could say anything you lost your balance, and yelped as you tried to regain it, but the world became a blur and soon you were heading straight for the ground.

Only Kiba caught you at the last second, holding you in a dip position. He smirked. 

"Told you I'd catch you." You just rolled your eyes, grabbed him the collar, and kissed him right then and there.

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You and Kakashi had been taking a nice evening stroll when the two of you had happened upon an antique store by chance, and seeing that you were thoroughly curious and puzzled by the little trinkets in the display window, Kakashi squeezed your hand, snapping you out of your trance, and asked if you if you wanted to go inside and look around.

"Maybe... Just a bit?" you said shyly, not wanting to take away from the pleasant evening. It was very rare that Kakashi asked you out with his busy schedule, and you didn't want to take away from the evening. Kakashi, ever-all-knowing, clearly read this in your voice. He smiled, tipping his head towards the door.

"Don't worry about it, (Y/N)," he reassured you, and opened the door to the store, with a little _ring,_ which perked up the owner's attention.

"Welcome!" the kind old lady at the counter said, a sense of youth and vivacity in her voice despite her age. Kakashi nodded to her, a polite smile on his face, as a thank you for the warm welcome, and she smiled to herself as she watched you two make your way around the store, choosing to stay at the register as not to intrude. The sound of her fiddling away at some antiques, along as the crackling sound of an old record served as the soundtrack to your little window-shopping session at the store.

You and Kakashi meandered between narrow shelves, his hand on your waist, drawing you close. You eventually settled at a little display case of cat statues, studying them with interest. Kakashi noted that you were going to be looking at those statues for a while, and took the opportunity to explore the store himself. The statues were so little, you were contemplating buying them for your kitchen - you were sure they'd look charming. Their little smiling, mewling faces looked up at you, delicately painted whiskers curled at the ends.

"(Y/N)," Kakashi had returned, and put a hand on your shoulder, "what do you think of this?" You turned around to see Kakashi with the most terrifying old cat mask on his face. You yelped, sending a mug falling to the ground but Kakashi, of course, picked it up and returned it to its place. He laughed at your shocked expression.

"Kakashi, you scared me!" you whined, taking the mask off of his face, "and, for the record, I much prefer this mask." you tapped his nose, shrouded by his own mask. He smiled.

"Well," he set the cat mask on a vacant spot at a nearby shelf, "if it makes you feel any better that's not actually what I wanted to show you." He pulled a ring out of his pocket, "this is." You looked at it keenly, admiring the little thing he held between his fingers. It was beautiful - a thin ring composed of a row of diamonds. It glittered between his thumb and index finger as he turned it, letting the lights of the store reflect off of it, splashing flecks of reflected light around the walls.

"It's beautiful," you breathed, and Kakashi took your right hand, and slipped it onto your ring finger. He nodded in approval.

"Anything for my lady," he said before kissing the top of your head and heading to the register. You turned the ring around on your finger and studied the price tag. Your eyes practically popped out of their sockets when you read the price.

"Kakashi," you hurried after him, "you read the tag, right?" He waved a hand to dismiss you, but before he could respond, it was the lady at the counter's turn to interrupt.

"What a kind young couple," she smiled warmly, "you can take it for free." Your mouth hung ajar.

"Ma'am that's not necessary - we can surely -"

"No," she laughed to herself, shaking her head, "that's quite alright. Such a sweet young couple like you two deserves it."

"That's very kind of you ma'am," Kakashi pressed, "but surely we can pay you somehow."

"There is one thing," the old woman lifted a wrinkled finger, and pointed it at Kakashi, "you promise to be good to her, young man, do you understand?" she tutted like a mother. Kakashi relaxed, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you close. He nodded.

"Of course."

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

It was a gorgeous autumn day to be outside. The sky was an azure blue and streaked with clouds of all shapes and sizes, the sun shining down and filling the otherwise chilly world with warmth. It was that period of autumn where it was just warm enough to wear a jacket, but not yet cold enough to need to start layering on scarves, hats, and gloves. Seeing that the weather was so pleasant today, Shikamaru told you he was taking you out to the park at the last minute, coming over for what you had expected to be a lazy day in but instead telling you to get dressed. He laid out a picnic mat onto the grass, setting his backpack down as he kicked his shoes off and sat cross legged on the gingham mat.

"Shikamaru," you stood next to him, "we should probably go buy some food first, right?" You put your hands in your pockets, warming them up inside. He waved a hand and dismissed your comment.

"Already took care of it," he opened his backpack up and pulled out two lunch boxes - two plastic lunchboxes wrapped in cloth and tied at the top with twine. You took the second package from him gratefully.

"Are you serious?" you laughed incredulously, "I thought you hadn't planned this." He shrugged, a little smile on his face. He put his hands behind his neck and yawned.

"It was a drag to prepare it all," his eyes were shut as he yawned, and he opened one eye to look at you as he smiled softly to himself, "but I guess it was worth it." You kicked your shoes off, finding your place next to Shikamaru, knees touching as you both sat cross-legged on the mat. You undid the twin and unfurled the cloth around the box, now feeling the warmth of the lunch box inside. You lifted the lid, and a puff of warm steam rose, a welcome one in this autumn chill, accompanied by the sweet smell of food. Inside were an assortment of rice balls, each hand-crafted with care.

"Shikamaru," you giggled, "you never cease to amaze me." He rolled his eyes and ruffled your hair, and the two of you ate as you discussed just about anything that came to mind. Knowing Shikamaru that meant listening to him drag on about history, but you didn't mind at all. You listened to him intently as you munched away, watching him get passionate as he discussed subjects of interest, chiming in occasionally to input your own two cents on the subject. This sort of dynamic more often than not resulted in debates, but the two of you were never ones to back down from a good old fashioned debate. It's what Shikamaru liked so much about you - you were just so clever. When the two of you had finished, you set your lunchbox down, laying down on the mat and staring up at the clouds.

You had chosen a good spot under a tree with leaves of brown, red, and orange, situated in the middle of a clearing so you could see the sky above you. You breathed a sigh of content as you looked up at the clouds, closing an eye and pretending to trace their outlines into the sky. Shikamaru took one last bite of his food before setting his lunch box down, looking down at you.

"What do you see?" his lips curled into a soft smile as he watched you gaze intently at the clouds, scrunching your nose as you tried to figure out what they looked like. He lay down next to you to join you. You turned your head to him.

"A cat with a witches hat," you said at last. He turned his head to you, so the two of you were now laying down next to each other and looking at each other. He raised an eyebrow. You nodded, in complete confidence of what you had just said. He didn't even have the heart to argue with it. He just rolled his eyes and pecked a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

**Sai**

Sai had excitedly taken you to the art museum (of course), and you couldn't help but tag along when you saw just how excited he was. And besides, it was a great place to take some nice photos, so you might as well, even if you didn't have much of an eye for art. After putting on your best outfit you walked out to Sai, who gave you a smile and a thumbs-up of proud approval, and he took your hand and the two of you set off.

The second the two of you had set foot into the museum Sai was like a kid in a candy store, taking you around each of the paintings and letting you know just what made them so museum-worthy. He took you from frame to frame, mural to mural, admiring the work while you stood by, watching him like a confused but supportive parent, lugging your big baby around the museum. Every room was another ensured 20 minutes of admiring, with Sai drawn to frame after frame like tossing a magnet down a tight vent - he just excitedly bounced off of every wall, full of energy and passion. "(Y/N)!" he grinned before taking your hand to show you to another room, "you won't believe the painting I just saw!" and off you were again, whisked off to another room. The two of you went on just like this all day, with Sai taking you by the hand, leading you from room to room, and when Sai took his time to admire a painting in detail he stood behind you, arms wrapped warmly around you, chin resting on your shoulder.

Sai also appeared to be very particular about photos, for when you handed him your phone to take your picture he had somehow managed to contort his body into all different kinds of positions as he tried to get the perfect angle - legs spaced apart, leaning on his back leg, back arched backwards to get a nice shot from down low. He kindly offered pose suggestions to you as you stood by paintings, and you were just glad today wasn't a busy day, for you were a little embarrassed when you had to pose in front of so many strangers. Thankfully, you and Sai had the whole room to yourselves.

"Okay now look at the painting and run your hands through your hair," he offered. You obeyed his direction and he smiled, "perfect!" and snapped a final photo. After what must have been five minutes he handed it back to you.

"Sai, you're such a good photographer," you giggled, resting your head on his shoulder, "I'm so lucky my boyfriend is an artist." Sai just smiled, his arm wrapped around you as he watched you flip through your photos. "These all look so good!"

"Of course they do, you're lovely," he laughed, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. "You put all the art in this room to shame, my (Y/N)."

"R-really?" your cheeks grew warm. He tilted your chin up and looked into your eyes before planting a nice long kiss on your lips. You supposed that was his answer.


	16. Errands

**Uzumaki Naruto**

"Geez, you've got so much stuff to give away," Naruto huffed as he heaved your tub of old clothing to the counter. You had spent the past weekend cleaning up around the house, and that meant major closet cleaning. Which, lucky for you, also meant closet-filling sooner or later. The two of you arrived at the donations counter, where Naruto set the tub onto a vacant spot on the counter with a _thud_ and an exhale of relief.

"Thank you, baby," you smiled, kissing him on the cheek. He ruffled your hair playfully.

"Anytime, babe."

Your eyes scanned the expanse of the thrift store - it was one of the biggest ones around Konoha, always stocked with new stuff and even more now that it was the turn of the season. It was a great time to look around now that they were starting to clean the shelves to make way for new donations, they always marked items down a ton as a new season set in. You turned to Naruto.

"Wanna hang out here for a bit?" Upon hearing this, Naruto grinned.

"Are you kidding? I love thrift stores, you find the weirdest stuff in these places." Clearly the two of you had a different idea of what to do at a thrift store. You were thinking more along the lines of clothes you could actually buy, but alright. You didn't even have the time to respond before he went bounding over to the men's section, digging around in the racks.

"Sure." You mumbled to yourself as you watched him rummage around. You wandered around the rows of racks stuffed with sweaters, shirts, and coats of all colors. Thrift stores were a great place to snag a deal, especially on old clothing. It's kind of amazing how some people would just throw this stuff away. Your concentration on the clothing was interrupted by a familiar voice not far behind you. The voice of your boyfriend, no doubt, likely about to show you some weird thing he'd found in the back of the store. He had an eye for the novel.

"Hey, (Y/N)!" you turned your head around to see where the voice was coming from, and Naruto stepped out from behind a shelf, decked out in a neon teal and pink windbreaker paired with matching neon purple and pink sweats. You gawked in shock at the flamboyance of his outfit. He posed against the shelf. "Pretty cool, right?" He wiggled his eyebrows at you.

"No. Not cool." you said, mouth hanging open.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

You weren't the most coordinated person, that much was sure, and such a hunch was only confirmed when you had sent your favorite potted plant crashing to the floor this morning. After a number of inappropriate words, you had managed to work up the calmness to take your broom and brush all of the soil away, disposing of what once was your favorite plant which had sat proudly on your windowsill, now but a mess of roots, leaves, stems, and soil on the floor. When Sasuke had come over, expecting to be spending a day in, you begrudgingly announced the death of the plant, and told him you were heading out to find a new one. He saw it only right to go with you.

"I can't believe I broke it," you grumbled as you walked through the door of the store. Sasuke followed you in and you practically dragged your feet as you moped around scanning the shelves of plants, eyes half-lidded in residual disappointment from this morning. You were still upset, and barely even wanted to take the effort of finding a replacement. Sasuke could feel your resentment and decided it would be better not to take your hand right now - he didn't want to irritate you further. Instead he busied himself with something in the back of the store, leaving you to collect yourself on your own.

None of these plants appeared to be an adequate replacement. Too small, too big, too heavy, too dense... You get unreasonably picky when you get cranky. You catch your reflection in the mirror, seeing the listless expression you had been wearing on your face all day for the first time. You massage your temples and promptly lightly hit your face with your palms to wake yourself up. You just needed to find a replacement and you could go home and this would all be over with...

"(Y/N)?" you felt a tap on your shoulder and you turned around to see Sasuke, small pot in hand. There in the pot stood a little group of flowers, newly bloomed and looking up to the sun as if their blossoms were delicate lashes, opening their eyes up to the world for the first time. Your reached out, fingers brushing the petals, when your attention drew to the strong hands cupped around the little pot. What a strange sight to see, Sasuke holding such a little thing in his hands so carefully, so lightly. You looked up at him to see the same care and delicateness in his eyes as he looked down at you, a question in his eyes, trying to gauge your reaction.

"Sasuke?" you up look at the boy with the flowers in his hand, cupping a hand on his cheek.

"Um, Is - is this ok?" he asks, looking back down at the flowers. You say nothing, but tiptoe and plant a kiss on his lips that he returns, softness in his kiss like that of his eyes, and his hands, and just about everything he felt about you. Yes. Yes it was okay.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

This past week, to your dismay, one of your favorite cups had broken. So, naturally, you had to find one to replace it. After a while of making your way around the store and finding an adequate replacement, you and Gaara had found yourselves wandering around the home section of the store, where you were admiring a number of decorative vases.

"These are so fancy," you ran your fingers over the mouth of one of the vases in awe, "can you imagine what kind of fancy house you'd have to live in to own one of these?" you said aloud to nobody in particular. It really was quite the ornate thing, a ceramic white vase decorated with intricate gold trimmings in shapes that mimicked swirling leaves. "What do you think-"

You turned around to ask your boyfriend for his own input, only to find that he wasn't there. You looked around, puzzled, before taking your cart and wheeling it to the other side of the aisle, where you found Gaara, standing at a shelf of candles. You walked over, but clearly, despite the clanging of your cart, he hadn't heard your approach, for he would've turned around by now. But instead he stood there, two hands wrapped around a candle, one fixed on the base of it and one cupped around it, bringing it his face and taking a deep breath, his eyes closed. There was a smile on his lips, as if remembering something pleasant. You stand beside him, watching his face as he took in the scent.

"You're really liking that candle, aren't you?" you said, a smile on your lips. You read the label. "Vanilla" it said. He shut the lid of the candle setting it back and nodded. He then put his arms around you, pulling you into a warm hug, which you gratefully accepted, wrapping your arms around him in return. You looked up at him and he pressed his lips to yours, soft and sweet. You felt the shape of a smile on his lips as you kissed him back. He pulled away.

"Because it smells like you," he said, before kissing the top of your head. "My angel." He wasn't wrong- it was the scent of your shampoo. It seems he knew even the way you smelled by now. You smile to yourself, before nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck, trying to pinpoint what he smelled like, but all you could focus on was him, right there in front of you, and you closed your eyes and relished in the feeling of being by his side in this moment.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

"What do you think would happen if I sat in the cart." Kiba looked down at the shopping cart. You shook your head at him as your eyes scanned the aisle in search of what you were looking for.

"That's a really bad idea," you told him. You reached over to try to grab a box of cereal, only you were just... A little lacking in the vertical department. Kiba laughed, reaching up above you to grab said box.

"You're so cute," he laughed as he set the box down in the cart, "oh, what would you do without me?" You rolled your eyes, a smile on your lips and you walked on, towards the dairy aisle. You had been running short on food at home, and you needed to refill your supply. Kiba, of course, insisted on coming, but you know you could've been just fine without him. But you didn't mind bringing him along - anything done with him could be fun, even the demure.

"I could do a lot. I could have gotten that box with or without your help," you told him matter-of-factly, hands on your hips as you walked. "I know how to climb."

"Now that," he said, pushing the cart along, "I'd want to see." You stuck your tongue at him playfully, before stopping at the dairy aisle, looking for the brand of milk that you preferred. Kiba wrapped his arms around you, nuzzling his face into your hair. You put your hands over his, holding them there.

"Oh," you realized you had forgotten to grab something a few aisles down, "Kiba can you go back and get some chips? I forgot. You know what I like." He released you.

"You know I do," he reassured you, and he turned the cart around and left, leaving you standing at the dairy aisle alone. You couldn't seem to find the brand you always liked, which was a problem because you didn't really like the taste of any of the other milk brands. Some just tasted too artificial for your liking. You started to wonder if you really needed milk for the next few days. Maybe you could wait for their next shipment and buy it then...

_CRASH!_ You heard the sound of metal clanging to the floor and a familiar voice.

"Ow." You ran over to find Kiba, on the ground, shopping cart turned over sideways on the floor, your items scattered down the aisle. He looked up at you in a daze and you folded your arms, looking down at him disappointedly.

"Kiba," you frowned, "what did you do."

"So remember when you said not to sit in the cart?"

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You couldn't remember the last time you had set foot in a post office. It must've been about 10 years by now - who used snail mail anymore, anyway? Your parents. Your parents did. Thankfully you were here at this relic of times long gone for a reason - they had sent over a box of full products from home for you to peruse and use, and today was the day you were told to pick it up. You had taken Kakashi with you, mostly because you needed a helping hand, but it wouldn't hurt to have him tag along, wouldn't it?

"Ah, yes, (Y/L/N) (Y/N)?" the man behind the counter said, "in that room right there. Just look for the box with your name on it and bring it over for me to check out." You nodded, your head turning to the second room. You stared in hopelessness as soon as you realized that it was filled with boxes of all shapes and sizes, some stacked on top of others, towering high like skyscrapers. They were all the same color. There was no way you were going to have any idea where yours was - you didn't even know how big it was going to be.

"Surely there must be someone-" you turned to the man, who stopped you.

"Not today, miss. We're understaffed." You sighed, and trudged over to the room, Kakashi following close behind you. You started sifting through the packages, picking them up to read the name, only to find it wasn't yours, and putting them in any vacant spot. Your eyes went glassy by minute 5 from reading all of these names. You cried out in exasperation and exhaustion.

"There's no way we're going to find the package!" you cried, turning to your boyfriend, who was, ever-level-headed as he was, calmly looking through box after box. He stopped what he was doing as you complained to him, staring as you put your hands in your hair, palms onto your temples, squeezing a little, as if that would make your eyes start working again. You turned back to the rest of the room. It would take hours for you to go through every box in here. Your arms went limp as you read the label of the box in your hands. Again: wasn't yours. God, you hated snail mail.

"Oh, found the package," Kakashi quipped.

"Huh? Really?" You went to put the box in your hands away when you were suddenly swept off of your feet and scooped up in Karachi's arms. He cradled you like a baby, bringing his face close enough for your noses to touch.

"You. You're the package." Despite your frustration just before this, you found it in you to smile at his lame joke. You giggled, and pulled his mask down, cupping his cheek in your hand. He pressed his lips to yours and you put your arms around his neck, returning the kiss, feeling your anger melt away into the softness of his lips. He pulled away to catch his breath when you saw something out of the corner of your eye.

"Oh my God, I think that's mine-" you pointed to the top of the shelf behind Kakashi. He turned his head to look at it and set you down.

"Aw, and we were just starting to have fun," he sighed, pulling his mask back up and reaching over to get your box.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

A new semester was dawning which meant it was your favorite time of the year: time to replenish your stationery materials. You were buzzing with excitement just thinking about all of the ways you were going to organize your backpack for the new school year. It made you giddy - unreasonably giddy. Shikamaru took note of this as soon as the two of you had made it to the stationery store.

"(Y/N), you've been spending 10 minutes figuring out which pens to buy. That's 10 minutes too many." Shikamaru sighed from behind you as you scribbled onto the testing paper. You huffed.

"Clearly, you don't know what you're talking about. I only want the best," you informed him. You finally picked out the pens you wanted. "Okay, these ones will do." Shikamaru set off to the counter.

"Great, let's go," he waved his hand, beckoning for you to follow. You stood your ground.

"Hey, I haven't even picked out my notebooks yet!" you called after him. He stopped in his tracks, smacking his hand over his eyes and groaning.

"You're kidding, right?" he cried, "who knew that school shopping could be such a drag..." You rolled your eyes before you crouched down to peruse the store's selection of notebooks. You weren't a big fan of bound notebooks, they caused you too much trouble last year, what with papers falling out left and right from opening them so often and so on. Spirals were a much better choice for this year, low breakage risk. You nodded, moving over to the spiral notebook section. "Just take one and go," Shikamaru sighed. "You're such a nerd."

"And what's wrong with that?" you asked him, still concentrated on picking out the right notebook. You finally found one that was satisfactory, pulling it out and putting it in your basket and standing up to look at him. "Okay, fine. I'm done," you resigned, "after this let's go do something you won't be complaining about every five seconds. What do _you_ want to do, Shikamaru?"

He took the basket from you. "Great. I wanted to check out that new calculator model at the store across the street." You stared at him as he started towards the counter, dumbfounded. He was getting all worked up and complaining, calling you a nerd, so he could go across the street and look at _calculators?_

"Who's the nerd now!" You called out after him. He looked back at you, smirking.

"And what's wrong with that?"

* * *

**Sai**

"Oh!" you reached up and grabbed a carton containing your favorite brand of toothpaste, "found it." You set the toothpaste in the shopping basket Sai was holding in his arms, and he accepted it, before reaching in to study the packaging himself. You walked on, taking your phone out of your pocket and scrolling down your notes in search of your list. You tended to be forgetful when you went out to run errands, so it helped you to make a list sometimes of the things you needed to buy. Only you couldn't find your list all of a sudden. "Oh crap.." You scrolled more furiously through your phone, "I think I deleted my list..."

"Don't worry," Sai reassured you as he walked behind you, "I remember the rest of it. You wanted to buy some fruits next." You could always count on Sai to be there when you needed it.

"Thank you," you smiled at him, a gesture he returned, ever-innocently, ever-sweetly. He returned to studying the package as the two of you walked. He frowned. "Recommended by 9 out of 10 dentists?" he asked. You looked over at him to find him scrutinizing the text on the toothpaste carton.

"Yeah... What about it?" you ask.

"What about the other one dentist?" He inquired. You laughed, amused at how worked up he was getting over this.

"Does that... Really matter?" You giggle at his innocent inquiry. His frown doesn't fade as he continues to fret.

"Yes, because that means there was a reason that this one dentist would not recommend this brand of toothpaste."

"Sai," you laugh, "it's fine, maybe... Uh... That particular dentist just likes some other brand of toothpaste?"

"I wouldn't trust it in that case," Sai huffed, looking up at you. You stop and take the toothpaste from him, putting it back into the basket.

"Don't worry, Sai," you smile sweetly and reassuringly, "It's fine, it's not the end of the world. Just one dentist. Now come on," you cup his cheek in your hand and plant a kiss on his other cheek, a gesture that instantly relaxes him as he brings a hand up to meet yours on his face. He hods it there. "you remember the rest of the things on my list, right?" He nods, lacing his fingers with yours and leading the way.


	17. To Leave (For a While)

**Uzumaki Naruto**

You slammed the trunk of the taxi after putting your suitcase in, turning to Naruto. "All set," you said, opening your arms for one more hug. You were off to see your parents for the weekend and Naruto had called you a cab to your place, and had come to send you off.

"You'll be okay?" he asked after pulling away from the hug, holding you by your shoulders. His grip was firm, as if trying to ensure that for as long as he was around you were going to be safe. His blue eyes welled with worry as he looked into yours. You smiled softly.

"It's my parents place, Naruto," you reassured him, "I think I know my way around." He pulled you into another tight hug, arms around your waist and burying his face into the crook of your neck. He left a soft kiss there. "Besides, it's just for the weekend. Two days. That's not so bad, right?"

"I know," he mumbled, "I just want to make sure you're safe when you go," he sighed. You returned his hug, turning your head to kiss the top of his.

"I'll be okay."

"Okay." After a few more moments he pulled away, giving you a kiss on the cheek. He opened the door of the taxi, ushering you in and you took your seat, taking your backpack off and setting it next to you. He closed the door, doing his best to muster a smile. He turned to the taxi driver, his expression completely changing from soft and sweet, now grave and serious. "Listen here, man," he stared at the driver pointedly, "you make sure she gets there safe and sound, alright? That's my girl in the back seat of your car, you hear?"

As embarrassed as you were you couldn't help but laugh to yourself watching Naruto police the driver like this. It was like your dad sending you off to prom with your date or something. Naruto continued his little lecture.

"You got to make sure you drive safely - I hope you got enough rest last night because I won't be having a sleepy driver driving my girlfriend around long distance," he wagged his arm at the driver, phone in hand, "and I know your plate number so if anything happens I know exactly who to go to!" The driver stared at him, rather bored and unamused. "You got it?" The driver nodded, and rolled up the window. You rolled your own window down, looking up at Naruto.

"Bye," you did your best not to feel sad, but you couldn't help it. It was only two days but you were going to miss him.

"Bye baby," he smiled weakly. It broke your heart to see him so upset. You reached your hand out to him and he took it, lacing his fingers with yours, his eyes fixed on yours. "Goodbye kiss," he said before leaning down and giving you one last kiss on the lips, your hands still interlaced. He pulled away, hesitantly letting your hand go. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Naruto."

The driver cleared his throat and your eyes met a pair of impatient, tired ones that were in the reflection in the mirror. You nodded your head, a signal to go, and he drove off. You looked back at your building, Naruto standing on the pavement, watching the car pull away like he watched your train do the same all those months ago - only this time he knew you were coming back to him.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

Sasuke handed you your duffel bag, "and you're going to call me every night?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He'd been pestering you with a bunch of questions for the past few minutes, a lot of them pretty dumb, honestly. Were you going to stay out late? Were you going to make sure you were safe? Were you going to be going around by yourself? You knew it was all with good intentions.

"Of course I will," you reassured him, "every night. For as long as you'd like." Sasuke usually was so collected, but judging from how curious he suddenly was about your daily habits for this trip, you sensed a little bit of anxiety in him, something that you didn't think he was even capable of. He was never one to ask many questions, but being away from you, Sasuke had to know what you were up to, to make sure you were going to be alright now that he couldn't watch over you. He wanted to protect you all the time. Making sure that you knew what you were doing was one of the ways he showed that. You looked at him after securing your duffel bag's zipper shut, looking into his eyes and seeing a hint of uneasiness. "Sasuke," you asked, "are you... Are you okay?"

He shifted for a moment, avoiding your gaze, "yeah, of course."

"Then what's with all the questioning and pestering and..." you trailed off. You knew there was no point in trying to get him to open up if he didn't want to. You sighed, adjusting your shirt, and you were about to shrug it off when Sasuke finished your sentence for you.

"...Worrying about you?" You stopped, and looked at him once more. His gaze was focused on you now. You hadn't really expected him to be so upright with his feelings, but now that you were leaving he didn't want to hold anything back from you. He didn't want to have to put up this facade and ignore everything before he was about to let you go for a few days. But you didn't know this.

You didn't want to leave Sasuke. You knew that an emotional goodbye was likely out of the question, despite all of the sadness welling up inside of you right now, and yet that seems to be what was happening right now. You hadn't been expecting it. You tried to maintain composure.

"Is... Is that what you feel?" you ask, your lips parting. His eyes were fixed on them as they quivered. You were so glad that he seemed to be worried about you and feeling as uneasy as you were about leaving. You tried not to let tears spill from your eyes as you stared at him, awaiting his answer. It came to you in the form of a desperate kiss, lips crashing against yours, telling you everything you needed to know. The two of you parted at last.

"Of course it's how I feel, (Y/N)," he said, "I'm going to miss you."

You bit your lip. "I'm going to miss you too."

He put a hand to your cheek, saying nothing as he let it stay there, the warmth of his hand against your cold skin, looking into your eyes. That seemed to be all the reassurance you needed. He nodded and you nodded back.

"I'll see you in a few days, Sasuke."

"I'll see you."

You turned to leave.

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Gaara asked as you almost turned to leave the check-in counter area and head to your flight gate, leaving Gaara for a week for an annual family get-together. Because it was at another relative's place somewhere you hadn't spent a lot of time at, you were going to be staying at a hotel on your own. Gaara didn't seem to be a big fan of you traveling alone, and had made this clear when you had told him you had to leave for a bit. You stopped and turned to him.

"I'll be okay, Gaara, I promise," you smiled softly, reassuringly. This didn't seem to calm his nerves. He took one of your hands in his, splaying your fingers out so your palms were touching, then interlacing his fingers with yours. He squeezed your hand softly.

"But I won't be there," he said, his voice lowering. He looked off to the side, avoiding your gaze. He truly didn't want you to go all by yourself. "What if something happens? What if you catch something on the plane get sick? I won't be there to take care of you and you always feel awful when you're sick..."

"I'll call you. Every night." You tried to meet his gaze, but he kept avoiding it, as if locking eyes with you would hurt too much now that you were about to leave. "Gaara," you raised your other hand, turning his chin so his head was facing you and his eyes couldn't escape your gaze. "I'll be okay."

Gaara sighed, taking this second hand in his as well. He held both his hands in yours, before letting go and putting his hands around your waist and pulling you in. Gaara worried. About you. He worried all the time. He never wanted to let you out of his sight and he rarely ever did when the two of you went out together. He always wanted to be by your side and no you were going to leave. You knew how much he worried, and thinking about him worrying so much about you made you worry as well. He pressed his forehead to yours, saying in his low voice, "Just come back safe, okay?"

You opened your mouth to say something, but he beat you to it. His voice was barely a whisper now, barely audible.

"Come back to me."

You grabbed him by his collar and pressed your lips to his, a kiss that told him you didn't want to leave. You wrapped your arms around him in a warm embrace as he deepened the kiss, telling you he didn't want you to leave, either. The two of you parted at last, and you put a hand to his face, cupping his cheek in your hand.

"Gaara," you whispered, "I'll miss you.

"I'll miss you more." 

You smiled at him weakly, and he attempted to do the same. He put his hand up to the one that was on his cheek, holding it and lowering it. You backed away from him slowly, both of you extending your arms out as you backed away as if trying to prolong the moment you had to let go. Then you did. You turned and left.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

You rolled your suitcase away from you for the bus driver to load into the bus, watching the other passengers of the airport bus board, slipping their coins into the coin box at the front by the driver's seat. The line into the bus progressed slowly but surely as you turned to Kiba to say your goodbyes.

"Well, I should be going soon," you sighed, your eyes on the ground. You didn't really want to go, but your parents had insisted that you come over for some distant cousin's birthday or something, which meant a few awful days of the typical pleasantries that accompanied a family gathering: a lot of "hello"s, "how do you do"s, and "what are you up to"s. You weren't really looking forward to it. You looked up at your boyfriend, the one thing that seemed to bring color and spontaneity in your life and he looked back down on you. He reached his hands out and interlaced his fingers with yours.

"But I don't want you to go," he pouted, bringing your hands to his face and holding them there. His cheeks were warm and soft, only softening more as he pouted. You took a step closer to him, so your toes were touching as you faced each other, looking up at him.

"I don't either," you said, "but I have to." You stroked the surface of his cheeks with your thumbs, feeling the familiar smoothness that your lips had touched so many times before. This was the first time you were going to be away from Kiba for a few consecutive days in a row. It didn't sound like it was going to be fun. Everything in you wished you could have taken Kiba with you - they were going to ask about him anyway. Kiba leaned down, his lips almost brushing yours, gazing into your eyes.

"Just have fun, okay? And call me often," his voice was low and serious, a stark contrast to the energetic, daring, cocky boy that he had shown to the world. Many thought that Kiba wasn't capable of being sensitive or calm at all for that matter - but he could be sweet. So, so sweet. The look in his eyes made you want to melt.

"I will, I promise, just," you broke the sad tension with a little joke, "pick up my calls, would you?" You laughed weakly. He returned the laugh, a warm, low, soft sound. He then pressed his lips to yours, a soft kiss. Your eyes fluttered shut.

The moment was cut short.

"Hey!" the bus driver barked, "we have to get going!" Kiba pulled away, rather irritated, his cheeks glowing with a tinge of pink as he waved his fist at the driver.

"We're trying to have a moment here!" He retorted! You laughed.

"Hey," you said, before taking his free hand in yours. This calmed him down immediately, and his attention was focused on you, no longer on the bus driver. That soft expression returned to his eyes. "I'll go now, okay? I'll see you in a few days."

"I'll miss you," he frowned again.

"I know. I'll miss you to." You squeezed his hand in yours. He did the same. Then you let go and boarded the bus.

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

"Kakashi," your eyes widened in bewilderment as you turned away from the check-in counter, boarding pass in hand to start towards your gate, when you saw Kakashi standing there by the end of the counter. It was really late (for a school night, at least), about 10 PM, and Konoha High was a little ways away from here. Kakashi had told you that he wasn't going to be able to send you off - why was he here now? And why had he gone so far to do so? It was a Thursday, he still had work tomorrow, and with the time it took for him to get from school after staying there to work late as he typically did, he probably hadn't even eaten dinner yet. As a matter of fact, he was still in his work clothes from the day, only his tie was loosened slightly. You approached him, and he put a hand to your waist, drawing you in.

"Well I had to send my lady off, didn't I?" he posed the rhetorical question, leaving you stumped (as you often found yourself feeling when trying to answer his witty little remarks).

"Kakashi," you started, "it's a school night - it's late - you won't get enough sleep," you worried for him. You really did. "Tomorrow you'll be so tired and I'm not there to-" Kakashi stopped you, planting a kiss on your forehead. He tilted your chin up to look at him, your foreheads touching. He hushed you.

"Shhhh.. My lady," he gazed into your eyes, his lips curling into a little smile, "I wouldn't miss sending you off for the world. I'll be fine tomorrow, don't worry about me." He kissed your nose. "Besides, I'm the one doing all the worrying. About you."

"And why do you think you need to worry about me?" You asked. You were just off for a family reunion for your mom's birthday, there was nothing too suspect about it.

"Well can you blame me? I want to be around you all the time and when I'm not it drives me crazy. I miss you all the time and I think about you all the time." You couldn't argue with that. He was right and you were going to miss him too. So, so much. You stared at the ground, trying to find the words to say only they weren't coming. So you kissed him, hoping that the kiss would say everything you needed to but couldn't. The kiss started off firm. It said _I want you to be by my side._ Then it softened. _But I need to leave._ Kakashi pulled away. "Well I guess this is goodbye for a little while, huh?"

"God, don't say it like that," you held his both his hands in yours, "it makes it sound so official. It's scary."

"Being away from you is scary."

"I know." You hung your head low. Now you just felt awful. Kakashi tilted your chin up again, pecking you on the lips one more time.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he smiled once more, "you'll come back and I'll be here to pick you up. Promise." You nodded.

"Okay," you released your hands from his. "I'll be going now." Kakashi nodded, and imparted on you one last goodbye.

"I'll miss you," he said.

"I'll miss you too," you smiled weakly. He nodded again, signaling that it was time for you to leave, and you did, your fingers still tingling as if the ghost of his hands stayed right where you wanted them too. You curled your hands into fists, trying to feel the phantom contours of his hands. Nothing.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

"Okay, I'm going now, bye, Shika!" You turned to head up the escalator to the train platform, only Shikamaru stopped you, grabbing your wrist and twirling you around so you were facing him. There was an embarrassed and disappointed look on his face, and yet his lips still retained a smile of amusement.

"Silly woman," he laughed softly to himself before gently kicking your suitcase forward. It rolled to you and met your knee. "Almost forgot your suitcase. With all your stuff in it." You turned red, laughing and rubbing the back of your neck in a self-soothing motion, trying to relieve your embarrassment.

"Oh boy, did I? I didn't even notice - I guess that's what 'forgetting my suitcase means'-" you cut yourself off, eyes narrowing as you realized how dumb you were being. It was amazing how you could manage to be ditzy in front of only the starters person you knew. What amazed you even more was how he still stayed through all of it. For some reason. He laughed again, rolling his eyes before stepping forward, putting a hand at your waist, and drawing you in.

"Oh, you troublesome woman." He smiled to himself. "What would you do without me." He was smirking now, teasingly, jokingly. You scoffed, returning his playful jokes.

"A lot, actually," you turned your nose up to the sky, pretending to be above him, "just watch me, I'll take care of myself this whole trip!"

"Like a big girl, huh?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. You nodded proudly.

"Yup, like a big girl-" you stopped yourself again. You fell into one of his traps and now you looked dumb again. You frowned. It was great how Shikamaru was so witty, but sometimes it really backfired against you. He laughed again, planting a quick kiss on your forehead.

"Well, I think you need to catch a train," he reminded you. You nodded. You almost turned to leave, but you realized that you really were going to miss Shikamaru - even if only for a few days. You were coming back, and you knew you'd be away from him, but being here made it all seem real now. You stared into his eyes, lost for a few moments in thought, before whispering.

"...Shika?" He leaned down, having barely heard you, his ear by your lips.

"Hmm?" He asked, but you just turned your head and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll miss you," you told him. He smiled again.

"And I'll miss you too." He ruffled your hair playfully. "Now, go. You'll be late. And I don't want you blaming that on me." You rolled your eyes, and turned around, ensuring your belongings were with you before going up to the platform.

* * *

**Sai**

You were just doing some final checks of your possessions before you were heading up to the train platform, and, of course, that meant having to say goodbye to Sai for a while. This would be the first time you were going to leave him for a long period of time, and you already suspected that it would hurt but not this much... At the very least this would be the first trip you take with Sakura and Ino where you have a boyfriend - someone to call home to. They had always teased you about not getting out of your comfort zone and meeting new boys, always pushing you to meet new people when you guys went out to travel, but at last they would finally give you a break.

But that didn't mean that you wanted to leave him either. You turned to Sai, who had his arm around you, and looked up at him. You didn't even want to say the words "goodbye". It was so silly, it's not like you were leaving forever, it was just a week, right? It can't be that bad. Holidays always seem to go by so quickly and yet this one almost seems like it would last forever.

"Don't be afraid, my (Y/N)," Sai smiled softly, noting the look of worry and anxiety on your face, "I'll be okay without you for a bit." He squeezed your shoulder. You leaned into him. You still couldn't say a word - saying anything almost made it seem like you were already gone. You did all you knew how to do and wrapped him in a warm embrace, breathing in his scent as if trying to imprint it in your memory. You held him so, so tight. He read the sentiment in your embrace. "Yes, I'll miss you too," he whispered before kissing the top of your head.

"I'll call you every night, I promise," you look up at him, trying not to let this hurt too much. You were coming back, and yet you couldn't really tell why you were being so sad about leaving for the short period of time you'd be gone. Sai reached into his pocket, bringing out a little box.

"Oh," he smiled, "this is for the train." You took it from him, about to open it when he stopped you, "and by that I mean only on the train, my (Y/N)." he put his hand over yours to stop you from opening it. "Now go, the train will be leaving soon." You nodded, and cupped his cheek in your hands, bringing his face down to yours for one last kiss. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

And with that, you turned to stand in the escalator, Sai watching you as you ascended before disappearing behind the ceiling of the first floor. You held the box in your hands, taking a peek inside. Your favorite chocolates. You smiled.


	18. I Miss You

**Uzumaki Naruto**

You sat on the bus, flipping through the day's Instagram stories. It wasn't really something you did on daily basis, you didn't really care too much for knowing what everyone was doing at every point in the day, but being on the bus and having nothing left to do, it seemed like the only option left. You tapped through story after story after story, eyes half-lidded and glassy as you absentmindedly tapped through photo after photo of food, boomerangs, and photos of smiling friends. Then you came across a few photos from Naruto.

In the first one he has his face propped up in his hand as he frowns. "Nothing to d o o o o o o" was the caption. You tapped to the next one.

A boomerang of him flopping onto his bed. "This is what happens when ur girlfriend isn't around" the caption read. You tapped to yet another one. This time it was a photo of the two of you, one that you had taken while the two of you were out on our date at the drive in movie, Naruto holding the phone as you sat in his lap, you grinning, bag of chips in your lap and Naruto's chin on your shoulder as he kissed your cheek. "Come ba a a a a a a ackk k k khsgiyweiptuqpwot" the caption read. You laughed to yourself, finally awake for the first time this whole bus ride. Your finger rested on Naruto's face, as if trying to feel his kiss through the screen. The photo changed to the next one.

It was a boomerang taken as he hung upside down at the edge of his bed, sighing. "Missssss her sjkdjskdjsdkj" You smiled. You laughed softly to yourself, wishing you could be there lying next to him. You tapped the bottom of the screen, typing out a message.

"Miss you too you nerd :)"

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

You weren't really expecting too much from Sasuke in terms of emotional professions of how much he missed you - you knew that that was beyond him. Though he had been spending all day checking in with you periodically, shooting you texts left and right asking questions like where you were, how you were, and what you were doing. It was his way to show that he cared, even though it was not as conventional as other boys you knew, who may send their girlfriends long texts of video chat them for hours when they were apart. No, Sasuke showed his concern through ensuring he knew where you were at every waking moment of the day, making sure that you were okay.

You walked down the street, watching people pass by. You passed a couple, hand in hand, walking down the street wordlessly. You felt a pang in your heart as you remembered Sasuke, squeezing your hand into a fist, feeling nothing but air in the spaces where his fingers should be. They walked on, not saying a word to each other, but you knew that they had immense feelings for each other - in many ways you and Sasuke were the same. You didn't need words to tell each other how much you loved each other.

You felt a buzz in your pocket and unlocked your phone. It was a text from Sasuke, probably another checkup.

Only it wasn't. You had received a photo. It was a photo of Sasuke, likely at some restaurant, a selfie of Sasuke staring rather boredly at the camera, his hand raised and pointing to a rather unattractive fish. "made me think of you" the text below read. You smiled to yourself, holding your phone to your heart. 

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

You woke up, exhausted. Your eyes could barely open you were so tired. But you had to, because you had plans for the day that you, unfortunately, couldn't miss. You groaned as you shifted in the bed, not wanting to leave the comfortable blankets, not wanting to move your head from the place where it had pretty much indented in the pillow. What little streaks of light managed to leak through the blinds that you had drawn down the night before illuminated the room, and you reached a heavy hand over to your phone, which lay on the bedside table, to check the time.

You rubbed your eyes to try to keep them up, when you noticed a slew of notifications under the time. You took your phone and opened it, to find they were all from Gaara, at worrying late timestamp. 12 in the morning. 1 in the morning.

Sent at 12 AM: _Angel, I miss you. I can't stop thinking about you and it's driving me crazy - I hope you're sleeping well. I'm having a little trouble falling asleep, I miss you. A lot._

Sent at 1 AM: _I know, I know, it's late. But I'm just worried, okay? I miss you so much it hurts I just want you to come back as soon as possible. But I don't want you to worry about me too much either. I did a lot today, it's just a little more lonely without you around. Are you sleeping well? Are you having good dreams? I hope you are._

You tried not to cry as you read through the messages, wondering just how worried Gaara must be for you. It hurt - being away from him for so long. You knew it was in his nature to worry about you - he cared about everyone who was close to him so much. You realized how much you wanted to be with him, to let him know you were doing fine, and your heart ached for home. You soon realized that home was no longer just a place anymore - no, home was with him, and you wanted to go home.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

You flopped onto your bed after a long day of "hello"s and "how do you do"s, exhausted - both physically and, well, mentally. You looked down at your phone in your hand, which started to buzz as if it had heard the wish in your heart - a call from Kiba.

"Oh thank God," you sighed in relief, accepting the call. There he was, in his pajama shirt, his hair messy and sticking out at all sorts of angles - undoubtedly having just come out of the shower. He raised a towel to his head, drying it off, confirming your suspicious. He looked up to his phone, which seemed to be propped up against his bathroom mirror. He grinned.

"Hi there, princess," he smirked. You rolled your eyes, your lips forming a smile despite your exhaustion. "Miss me?"

"Of course I do," you smiled, feeling so refreshed to see Kiba after such a long day, "just showered?" He nodded, taking his phone and opening the door.

"Yup, and I smell _reeeeal_ good," he stretched out the 'real', raising an eyebrow playfully.

"Is that so?" you teased.

"You should come back so you can smell," he winked. You stuck your tongue out playfully. "Oh! Look, Akamaru misses you too!" He crouched down, lowering the phone to show Akamaru, slobbering happily into the camera. You laughed.

"Aww, I miss him too!" Kiba's face entered the camera view.

"Not more than me, right?"

"Of course," you said sarcastically. He frowned and huffed, walking of to his room. He pouted in mock sadness.

"My own girlfriend doesn't even miss me," he mumbled jokingly, "I guess I'll just have to," he lay down on his bed, propping the phone up on a pillow and laying down next to it, "die of loneliness," he muttered under his breath.

"I do miss you," you laughed, propping your phone up on a pillow and doing the same. It felt like you were laying next to him. Kind of. Not really.

"For real, though," he said, looking into the camera, his eyes welling with genuine sadness, "It's kind of lonely without you."

"You have the guys, Kiba, you'll be fine."

"Doesn't stop me from missing you anyway," he said. He lay there, looking into his screen at you. You lay there and did the same. After a few moments of just being in each other's presence (again: kind of but not really), he brought a hand up to his lips, kissing two fingers. He put them on the camera. You did the same. "Miss you, princess." 

"Miss you too."

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You were catching up with everyone back at Konoha as you lay in bed, in your pajamas and ready to sleep. Kakashi had long since bid you good night, he had to get up really early tomorrow for work - he wanted to catch up on some extra stuff he had procrastinated on (undoubtedly from reading all the damn time). You were conversing with Kurenai, just talking about what the two of you had done that day, texting back and forth.

Kurenai had told you that she, Asuma, and Kakashi went out the other day for a few drinks, but something was off with Kakashi. Yes, he was always spaced out, or at least seemed like it, but he truly seemed to have been distracted that day, as if bothered by something. No matter what they could do he just couldn't seem to lighten up. You could only wonder why.

Truth is he was thinking about you. Being out with Kurenai and Asuma and seeing them together made him realize how happy he was when you were around, made him remember just how much he loved you. That phrase about not knowing how good you have something until it's gone seemed to really ring true to him in these moments as he wished you were by his side. Everywhere he turned all he could see were happy couples, people meeting for he first time, and all he could think about was how much e would give to be with you. He was spaced out, yes: thinking about how elated he would be when he would finally have the chance to hold you in his arms again. But, as always, he wouldn't tell you that. He never wanted you to worry too much.

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

You were walking down the street on the way to your hotel when you felt a buzz in your pocket. You pulled your phone out, plugging your earbuds in and picking up the call from none other than Shikamaru. You grinned into the camera.

"Miss me, Shika?" you teased. You had just gotten out of the train station and he was already calling you. _How sweet._ You thought to yourself jokingly. "You just couldn't stay away from me, huh?"

Shikamaru, who appeared to be engaged in the similar activity of walking around outside, rolled his eyes. He frowned. "Troublesome woman making miss her, it makes my stomach hurt and I feel like I can't breathe," he huffed as he walked, not looking into the camera, "and you're doing it all you absolute drag," he frowned jokingly. You smirked, stopping at a red light to cross the street. 

"You know you love me," you retorted.

"Yeah right."

"Haven't lost anything while you've been away? Enjoying your freedom from me?"

"No, actually," the light turned green and you started across the street, "my dumb antics aren't nearly as fun when you're not around to be annoyed by them. There's also a significant shortage of lectures about history."

"Oh I know you must miss those," he chuckled. You smiled softly, looking down to the end of the street and thinking about all of the lectures he's given you that you never really asked for. You missed laying down on the couch, head on his lap, him running his fingers through your hair as he rambled on about anything under the sun. You felt a pang in your chest as you thought about it, realizing how much you wanted to be right there in the scene you just brought into your mind. Your voice dropped its playful tone, lowering to a genuine and serious tone as you responded.

"I do."

He read the tone of your voice, analyzing it as easily as he would a math problem. His mocking and joking tone fell as his smirk softened into a smile. "I miss you too."

* * *

**Sai**

You finally arrived at the hotel after a long train ride. Sakura kicked back into the hotel chair and Ino kicked her shoes off as you rolled your bag to the wall of the room.

"Finally!" Sakura sighed, propping her head up in her hand, "that was such a long train ride... I can't wait to sleep..."

"Yeah, right after we unpack," Ino muttered. All of you were exhausted. Even after napping on the train together you didn't feel very refreshed. In fact, you were hungry. Really hungry. You had eaten the chocolate that Sai have given you, but the meals that they offered on the train left a lot to be desired. It was too late at night to for three girls to be traveling on their own to find a convenience store, too. You stretched your arms out, trying to release some of the tension in your body from being cooped up in that train car all day. At least you were going to sleep soon. It wouldn't be as satisfying on an empty stomach, though. You laid your suitcase flat on the ground and unzipped it.

To your surprise you found something in the bag that you don't remember packing - something rectangular wrapped in a beige cloth and tied off with a ribbon. You sat crossed legged in front of your suitcase on the floor, taking it out and placing it in your lap. You undid the ribbon and the cloth unfurled to reveal a little lunchbox, with a sticky note on it that said "For my (Y/N), who I will never let go hungry, even when she is away from me - Sai". You could practically see the smile that could have been on his face should he had been there with you right now. You lifted the lid of the lunchbox to find it full of handmade rice balls, each with a cute animal face constructed on it with seaweed.

You couldn't help but smile despite your exhaustion, biting your lip to keep tears from spilling as you thought of Sai at home, cooking you some snacks to go without your knowledge.


	19. Reunion

**Uzumaki Naruto**

You anxiously tapped your foot on the sidewalk waiting for Naruto to come pick you up from the train station. He had sent you a text today saying that he was going to pick you up himself and you'd been eager all day for this very moment. Butterflies fluttered in your stomach as you waited, checking your phone every 5 seconds or so to see if he had sent you an update. He had told you he left the house a good while ago, maybe there was some traffic? But the roads looked clear from where you were, maybe -

"(Y/N)?"" you heard a voice from behind you, close by. You whipped your head around, your eyes lighting up as you saw Naruto standing there, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open like had just seen an angel. He stared at you just like this, starstruck. You laughed, immediately bolting towards him. As he noticed you running towards him he held his arms out, just in time for you to jump up and wrap your legs around his waist, him catching you mid-air and hoisting you up so you were wrapped around his body, legs around his waist and arms around his neck. You grinned, forehead touching his.

Oh how you missed those eyes. Those blue eyes like a royal jewel, twinkling in the lights. They only twinkled more as the two of you gazed at each other for a few moments before you finally whispered his name through a smile: " _Naruto."_

That was all it took for him to plant his lips on yours, firm at first and excited, just as much as you were, returning the kiss with equal passion and energy. As the kisses grew longer they grew softer, and so did your grip on him and his on you. His hands relaxed, no longer carrying the same desperation and alertness they had just moments prior, and so did yours. The two of you stayed there for a long time, lips against lips, enjoying each other's embrace. It was the kind of reunion that made you forget that it had only been 2 days. No, to the both of you being apart even for those two days felt like an eternity.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

It got so crowded in the late afternoon, you just wanted to find your way to the taxis so you could make your way back home. Outfits of all colors swirled by as you tried to navigate your way through the crowd, rolling your suitcase behind you. You tiptoed over pairs of shoes and looked up to try to find an opening. It was then that you tripped over somebody's feet, yelping and squeezing your eyes shut as you were sent crashing to the floor -

Only a hand landed between your shoulder blades, supporting you before you fell, catching you in a dip position. The rest of the crowd had the good sense to avoid you and your rescuer, parting to make space for the two of you. You opened your eyes too see who had saved you, only to have your eyes lock with a familiar pair of onyx eyes that glittered as they met yours for that first instant. Your mouth hung open ever so slightly, your lips quivering as you laid your eyes on Sasuke for the first time in person since you left. " _Sasuke,"_ you whispered, and his free hand made its way to your face, cupping your cheek. "I-"

"(Y/N), just..." he shook his head. You stopped speaking, looking at him, awaiting his response. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at you, and then they relaxed. He exhaled, his breath fanning your face. "shut up and kiss me."

He didn't bother waiting for you, his hand on your back pushing up to bring you to his face, his lips meeting yours. His kisses were desperate, hungry, and you gladly accepted the kiss, soaking everything about the moment, the way his hand made its way into your hair, the way his thumb stroked your cheek as he kissed you, soft and light in contrast to his firm kisses. You wrapped your arms around his neck, fingertips brushing the back of his neck, which only seemed to drive him even crazier as his kisses deepened, his tongue finding its way past your lips, kissing you with passion and the wishes of all the days he had been apart from you. He pulled away at last, and smiled before purring:

"God, I missed you."

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

You had just made your way out of the airport and were currently trying to overcome the task of weaving your way through the crowd when you heard a familiar voice call out from the distance.

"(Y/N)?" it made its way through the crowd and found its way to you.

"Gaara?" you cried out through the crowd.

"(Y/N)?" the voice was firmer this time, trying to pinpoint where you were now that he had heard your voice and received confirmation that you were around. "(Y/N)," his voice grew more anxious as the two of you meandered around waves of people. You stood on your tiptoes, standing as tall as you could, and could barely make out a flash of red hair in the distance. You determinedly started your way towards the red flash as Gaara continued to call out your name. You squeezed your way between two people and looked up, your eyes meeting a familiar pair of teal ones.

"Gaara!" you cried, crashing into him and wrapping him in a hug. He did the same, his arms tight around you, firm and unmoving, refusing to let you go. He rested his chin on your shoulder, head turning so he could whisper into your ear.

"My angel..." he purred, planting a kiss on your cheek. Though you were so glad to see him again you couldn't keep yourself from getting emotional.

"Gaara," you whispered, "are you okay? I've been so worried about you."

"(Y/N)," he sighed, "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have made you worry about me so much it was wrong -"

"No," you pressed, "of course I'm going to worry about you, I'm your girlfriend," you reassured him. He turned his head to rest his temple on your shoulder. "I just want to know that you're doing okay..."

"I'm okay, (Y/N). Don't worry about me any more. I'm okay." He brushed a lock of hair off your shoulder to expose your neck and pressed his lips to your skin. You relaxed as he kissed you there. "(Y/N)," he said between kisses, "are you ready to go home?"

You shifted positions, taking his head in your hands and touching your forehead to his. You kept your eyes fixed on him and he did the same, thoroughly enchanted by you, elated to be back with you again. You smiled softly, and so did he. "Gaara, now that I'm with you," you closed your eyes, "I'm already home."

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

You yawned as the bus pulled up to the bus stop, rubbing your eyes so you could wake yourself up. As the bus slowed down and hissed to a stop you checked the time. 5:30. The sky was a shade of amber and the clouds were streaked with yellow in the rearview mirror of the bus. You couldn't wait to get back and see Kiba again - he promised he would meet you at home and you were so excited.

Stepping off the bus and adjusting the little duffel in your arms, you turned to the front where they were unloading the bags, bags rolling around as they were carried out of the storage compartment by the driver. You looked around only to find that you couldn't find your suitcase. It was nowhere to be seen. Your heart stopped and your heartbeat quickened - did you leave it on the sidewalk? There was no way, you were sure that it had made it into the bus, how could it have-

"(Y/N)!"

All worry melted away as you heard that familiar voice, whipping your head around to see Kiba, standing with your suitcase next to him. You couldn't stop yourself - you ran towards him at full speed, his arms outstretched and ready to hold you and you fell into him. The two of you crashed into each other as you gave him a tearful hug and he buried his face into your shoulder, tangling his fingers with your hair. "I missed you so much," you cried, "Kiba-"

"I missed you too," he whispered. When the two of you finally pulled away you didn't even know what to say. You wiped tears from your face, laughing as you did, so glad to finally be seeing him again. His gaze was soft, warm, and inviting as he looked into your eyes, holding your face in his hands, "aw, come on," he smiled softly, "don't cry, princess." He brought his face down to yours, planting a kiss on your lips, one that you had waited for for so long. You wrapped your arms around his neck, your hold on him softening as you kissed him back. You felt his lips pull into a smile against yours and you sighed blissfully. He pulled away again, turning away from you and crouching down on the ground. "Now come on," he said, patting his own back, "climb on."

"Kiba," you giggled, "what?"

"You've been tired all day, princess, I'm not making you walk all the way back to your place. Put that bag down and I'll take care of everything," you set the duffel down on the ground and climb onto his back, wrapping your arms around his neck and resting your chin on his head. "Ready?" he asked.

"Always."

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You stretched your arms out before taking your suitcase handle in hand, rolling it out of the carousel area. Crowds of people passed by as you shuffled out of the area, tired and exhausted from the plane ride which was far from comfortable. You passed by sign after sign after sign of people holding up papers calling for whoever they were there to pick up, a sign held by what looked like a hotel bellboy looking or a family, a woman with a tour flag holding up a laminated sheet with a company logo printed on it. As you finally wriggled free from the crowd of colorful signs you lifted your eyes to see Kakashi, leaning against a wall, a copy of _Icha Icha_ in hand. Your eyes met his and he shut his book, taking long, casual strides toward you.

"Hi," your lips pulled into a small smile, he returned a warm smile from under his mask, taking your suitcase in one hand and putting the other on the small of your back after pocketing his book, leading you toward the parking lot.

"(Y/N)," he nodded at you. You frowned incredulously - _he wasn't going to say anything else?_ The two of you exiting to the doors and passing a number of cars before finally arriving at Kakashi's. He let you go, putting your suitcase in the back and shutting it. You leaned against the hood of the car, slightly put off. He met you again at the front, hands in his pockets as he walked up to you.

"You weren't even gonna give me, like, I don't know... A welcome back kiss...?" you mumbled under your breath. Kakashi moved in front of you, putting a hand out and putting it onto the hood of the car behind you.

"Oh, I'm going to give you one," the warm smile from when he first saw you quickly faded away, an electrifying spark lighting up in his eyes as he shifted his body weight onto the hand he put down on the hood. Your cheeks warmed up as he leaned his face in closer... Closer...

"Why wouldn't you do it sooner?" you managed to whisper, eyes widening slowly as he drew even nearer. He pulled his mask down with his free hand, exposing his lips. Your eyes immediately were drawn to them, and it took everything in you not to press yours against his lips, soft from their time spent under the mask, almost beckoning you to meet them. He brought his lips to your ear, a soft smile playing on his lips as he purred.

"Well, my lady," his lips brushed against your ear, sending a shiver down your spine, "It wouldn't have been decent."

His lips met your neck, kissing you up and down, hand moving to your waist, pinning you against the hood of the car. Your eyes widened and you gasped in surprise as he kissed you. " _Kakashi_ ," you managed to breathe. He pressed his lips against your neck one more time before growling.

"I missed hearing you say my name." His hand moved up to your chin, tilting it up so his lips could finally meet yours, as warm and soft as you remembered. His kiss began firm, softening up as you returned it, the two of you breathing in sync as you kissed before he ran his tongue along your lower lip and your lips parted, inviting him in. He kissed you sweetly, pulling away just as you began to get into the kiss just to make you want more. Your hands found their way into his hair and he pulled away at last. He tilted his head toward the car. "Shall we?"

"Okay."

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Shikamaru had texted you ten minutes ago that he would meet you at the station and had told you to make your way to the nearby convenience store. As soon as you stepped off the train you had determinedly made your way over, marching over and taking long strides as not to make any haste without breaking into a full on spring as to not draw too much attention to yourself. You couldn't help it. You were excited - so excited. You tried to suppress a grin on your face as you thought about Shikamaru, about being back together with him, feeling his embrace, listening to his endless rambling, enduring his relentless teasing...

Passengers with their bags moved through the station as well, making beelines towards the different platforms to ensure they were catching the right train. Children ran through the station screaming, candies and toys in hand, parents hurriedly rushing to catch up with them. You were in a hurry too, only, unlike these kids, you didn't have the luxury of bolting at top speed, not unless you wanted to arouse suspicion. Even people who were running late were speed walking at the most. Frustrated, you still managed skillfully dodged passenger after passenger. If only you could get there faster... Suddenly you went crashing into someone who didn't seem to be paying attention to where they were going. You fell to the floor.

" _Hey_!" you cried out, sitting up and dusting yourself off, "watch it! I have somewhere _real important_ to be, you know, can you pay attention to the -"

"Missed you too, (Y/N)," you looked up to see Shikamaru, an amused expression on your face, hand outstretched to help you up. You stared at him wide-eyed, gingerly extending a hand out for him to take in his.

"Shika, I'm sorry I-"

He just shook his head and tutted, "troublesome woman," he laughed, "so," he helped you to your feet, an arm swooping down to your waist and drawing you in, his forehead touching yours. He brought a hand to your face, resting it on your chin, brushing his thumb over your mouth. He pressed his lips to yours right then and there, slipping his tongue past your lips, dominating the kiss, leaving you breathless. You sighed and he hummed with pleasure. He parted after a long time and smirked. "Where was it that you said you needed to be?" You smiled softly, barely brushing your lips against his before you spoke your response.

"Right here."

* * *

**Sai**

The world spun around you as you tried to find your way through the crowd at the train station, having said your goodbyes to your friends a while ago. Sai had texted you that he was to wait for you at the station and pick you up there, and you looked around eagerly, scanning every face only for your eyes to meet those of strangers. Your eager search was staring to turn into that of anxiety as you couldn't seem to find him. You looked left and right but couldn't find him, in fact you couldn't see past the thick crowd.

That was when a paper airplane sailed down from the terrace of the second floor of the station, softly contacting your head. You turned around, looking up to see where it had come from, to see Sai standing there at the rail, waving and smiling. Your face lit up and he turned to make his way downstairs, and after a few minutes had found you right where you were standing moments ago. He pushed his way through the crowd.

"(Y/N)!" he called, and you breathed a sigh of relief as you watched him make his way closer to you.

"Sai!" you called out, grinning. He made his way to you at last, wrapping you in a warm embrace, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

"I missed you," he said, before kissing you once more. You wrapped your arms around him, returning his embrace, "did you like the little gifts I left for you?"

"Of course I did," you giggled, nuzzling your face into his shirt. You felt the warmth of his body and hugged him even tighter, so glad to finally be with him in person, relishing every second of your meeting. "They were delicious," you laughed. He pulled away at last, looking into your eyes.

"Well, my (Y/N)," he took your hand in his, "how about we go home?"


	20. You're Embarrassed/Clumsy

**Uzumaki Naruto**

You weren't a fan of scary movies. They just weren't your style. Ever since you were a child you weren't able to sit through a horror movie without spending the rest of the day squeaking at every foreign sound that comes to your ears. And of course, Naruto decided to pick a scary movie today. You, obviously, didn't want to let him know about your little fear, worried that he would laugh at you (which was always embarrassing regardless of how lighthearted he was being). You had managed to get through the first 30 minutes of the movie without showing any signs of terror. Lucky. But that was just the exposition - now that the characters were all introduced, plot set up and setting established it was time for the main event: the jump scares.

You sat on the couch next to Naruto, trying to hide how tense your muscles were in anticipation of an oncoming jump scare as the protagonist tiptoed down a dark hallway. You could already feel your heart pounding in your chest, threatening to bust out of your ribcage. Naruto, on the other hand, was lounging back in the couch, taking a sip of soda and setting it on the coffee table. You huffed as you glanced at his relaxed demeanor. _Why oh why did he have to pick such a scary movie?_

All of a sudden the jump scare came - the music finally built up to a climax as the bloodied monster jumped out from behind a doorway and let out a sound that was far from human, the protagonist letting out a blood-curling scream.

You yelped in fright, squeaking as you instinctively wrapped your arms around Naruto, clinging to him for dear life, burying your face into his shirt. You could feel the rhythm of your heartbeat thumping steadily, and you were sure he could feel it too. Naruto laughed, putting a hand on your head, running his fingers through your hair.

"Aw, babe, are you scared of horror movies?" he laughed to himself. You refused to answer, but shook your head against his chest. This only made him laugh more. He shifted so you were looking up at him, lifting your legs up and placing them over his as he sat upright. Your hands were still tense as they were wound tight around his body. He kissed the top of your head. "Don't worry, baby," he smiled, "I'll protect you."

He drew you into a warm embrace, his arms around you for comfort while you kept your arms around him for safety. You rest your head against his chest, relying on the steady beat of his heart to calm your nerves as you braved the task of watching the rest of the horror movie with Naruto. With his arms around you the whole time, tightening reassuringly when yours did in fear and planting the occasional encouraging kiss on your cheek or forehead, it wasn't nearly as bad as it usually was.

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

You were laying on the couch, scrolling through your instagram feed when you heard a knock at the door. You immediately had known it was Sasuke, partly from the fact that he had texted you a few minutes prior telling you he was on his way and also from the way that he knocked on the door. It was amazing how even his knock seemed to carry that same nonchalant manner that he carried in his attitude and the way he held himself. You immediately shot up in your seat, setting your phone down on the couch and getting up to get the door. You made a run for it, excited to be spending the first full day with him since you got back - when you had arrived he had only had the time to drop you off before his brother called him back home again. You were at full speed, your bare feet squeaking on polished wooden floor and pitter-pattering on carpet, only your foot had gotten caught on the end of the carpet just as you neared the front door. "I'm coming!" you called out to him.

You lost your balance, slipping and falling to the ground, your nose hitting display table on which sat a number of family pictures in the hallway before you crashed to the ground, face down. You felt a sharp pain in your nose, and soon enough felt something warm dribble down your chin. You slowly sat up in a daze, trying to recollect yourself. There was a click at the door, undoubtedly Sasuke making use of the spare key you told him you hid under the flower pot on your porch.

Sasuke had opened the door to find you sitting up, head leaning against the wall, hand to your head trying to steady yourself. A thin stream of blood trickled down from your nose and onto the floor. Fear and concern flashed in his eyes for a split second before he sprang into action. He immediately kicked his shoes off and ran to your aid.

"Jesus, (Y/N)," he crouched down next to you, pinching your nose and tilting your head down, "what in the world were you doing!?" You groaned.

"I'm fine," you said, squeezing your eyes shut and opening them again, hoping this would help get rid of all the stars in your eyes. "Sasuke, I'm fine."

" _(Y/N),"_ he said sternly. You looked at him and managed to put a hand to his cheek. In your dizzying daze you managed to smile.

"Aw, so you do care." He just shifted your body so he could pick you up in his arms and carry you to the living room. He set you down on the couch. He sat on the floor next to you.

"What were you doing running around the house like that?" he said tersely as he handed you tissues to sop up the blood. The tone of his voice had you realize that he was being pretty serious, and you went quiet for a moment, the smile on your face fading.

"I was just excited to see you that's all..." You mumbled at last. He stopped and exhaled. You realized he had been holding his breath this whole time. He pressed his forehead to yours and your eyes moved to look at him. His eyes fluttered shut as he sighed.

"God, (Y/N)," one of his hands crept up and interlaced its fingers with yours, squeezing. "You're so clumsy. Don't scare me like that."

* * *

**Sabaku no Gaara**

The rain outside came down in heavy sheets, drilling the concrete outside the building. You and Gaara had decided it would be wiser to stay indoors today and decided not to make any plans once the two of you had seen the weather forecast for the rest of the day. Gaara lay sprawled out on the couch watching TV while you had your head propped up in your hands as you peered out the window, watching the rain pour down outside. Gaara turned to you, smiling softly as he watched you watch the rain.

"Busy, angel?" You nodded in response and watched, eyes narrowing as you traced a raindrop's path on your window down to the base of the window. You squinted to see better and track down this one specific raindrop, watching it grow slightly as it collected water from other neighboring raindrops when suddenly...

_BOOM!_

The thunder and lightning suddenly roared outside, causing you to squeak and jolt with fright, sending you slipping onto the floor. You land on your rear with a _thud!_ and Gaara comes running to your aid. You sit up, dazed.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his voice full of concern and his eyes full of worry. You rub your temples and go to stand up.

"I think I-"

_BOOM!_

Another crack of thunder and lightning flash nearby, catching you off guard again and causing you to cry out in fear, clinging to Gaara as you stood up. He put his arms around you, tightening them to calm you as the thunder and lighting raged outside, causing you to shake slightly with each roaring clap and flash of light.

"Oh, angel..." he whispers into your ear, softly rubbing your back as he smiled to himself, "are you scared of thunder?" You managed to nod, tightening your grip on him and trying to hide your face in his shirt. He rocked you softly, bringing a hand into your hair and combing it with his fingers. "Shhh.. It's okay, angel," he said softly, "I'm here."

It was so embarrassing that you had to show this dumb fear in front of Gaara, but seeing his reaction and how much he was genuinely willing to care for you without judgement, maybe it was okay that you did.

* * *

**Inuzuka Kiba**

Your laundry machine was busted over at your place, so Kiba had ever so kindly offered for you to bring your dirty laundry over to his place. You, of course, had protested, saying it was okay for you to go find a laundromat, but, of course, he insisted, and you lugged a duffel full of smelly laundry from the past week to his place and set it on his bathroom counter.

"I can take care of it," he put his hands on his hips, smiling proudly at you. You raised an eyebrow.

"Really."

"Yep, don't worry about it," he nodded, "do you want something to eat? You can head to the kitchen and grab whatever you want." You wanted to argue, but you knew there was no winning with Kiba, he always had to be the winner and always had to be right. You made your way to the kitchen, opening up the fridge. It was a hot summer day and you were more than glad to find a brand new tub of ice cream in his freezer. It was even your favorite flavor, as if he had known that. You pulled the tub out, giving it a few minutes to defrost before scooping a few scoops into a bowl, topping it with some sprinkles you found in a cabinet. You couldn't help but laugh when you saw that little jar of sprinkles in the cabinet - a guy like Kiba harboring a secret sprinkle stash? You weren't really surprised at all, honestly. Of course he ate his ice cream with... Rainbow sprinkles.

After preparing your little snack you decided to make your way back to the bathroom to check on Kiba and see how he was doing. As you walked in, spoon in your mouth, you saw him standing there, holding a pair of your underwear - one with puppies on it. Your cheeks flushed a deep shade of red as you stared. He turned to you, his eyes practically twinkling and his mouth hanging open.

"Do- do you actually wear-" You sucked in your breath, holding the bowl of ice cream to your face in an attempt to calm the heat that had suddenly risen to your cheeks.

"Yes - yes- I do - can you just-" you set the bowl of ice cream down on the counter and tried to grab it from him, only he held it up high, well out of your reach, "Kiba! Come on!" you whined. He grinned mischievously, only raising it even higher. You tried to tiptoe to take it, but instead he planted a kiss on your lips, passionate and sweet. You could feel a smile on his lips as he kissed you. When he pulled away he placed a hand on your warm cheek. "Kiba..." you pursed your lips, embarrassed.

"Shhhh, princess," he laughed, "it's cute."

"Really."

"So cute."

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

You lay on the couch, arms up in the air holding a book that you were thoroughly engrossed by, your eyes narrowing as you reacted to the words on the page, following the story play by play. You had been reading this novel this whole week and were thoroughly invested - and now it was arriving at the climax of the story. Your legs were crossed one over the other as you stretched out on the couch.

"Something interesting happening?" Kakashi asked as he walked into the room, glass of water in hand, taking a sip. "You haven't said anything for the past hour..."

"Mm," was your reply. You just nodded to acknowledge that he had said something, not really paying attention to what it was, exactly, that he had said. You just kept reading away.

"Babe." He sat next to the couch on the floor, chin on the edge of the couch by your face, trying to get your attention. You grunted again, nodding. "Babe." He tapped your shoulder. You shrugged him off, too engrossed in the book to want to break away from the story just yet. You finally arrived at the big climax, the final plot twist, and you were shocked to say the least. Your eyes widened in shock, mouth hanging open, when suddenly you realized -

In your shock you had let go of the book, and it came falling down onto your face, landing your face and leaving a sharp pain on your cheek. It clattered to the floor, and Kakashi began to laugh, a warm and deep sound, wrapping his arms around you as you rubbed the area of pain vigorously.

"It was that good, huh?” Kakashi smiled at you and you stuck your tongue out at him. “Is your cheek okay?”

“Does it look okay?” You moved your hand for him to check and he put his hand to your cheek, stroking the area lightly with his thumb. His expression grew more serious as he studied your face.

“It’s a bit red, but it’ll go away soon,” he reassured you, a soft smile returning to his lips. You nodded and his hand lingered there. “Want me to kiss it and make it better?” You rolled your eyes and scrunched your nose playfully. He planted a kiss on your cheek - gently - so gently so he wouldn’t hurt you. He then planted a kiss on your lips, just as soft as the last one. You returned the kiss and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth as your lips parted, kissing you deeply and passionately. You sighed with pleasure and he pulled away, looking at your face again. He said nothing for a few moments, eyes locked on yours as you panted slightly breathless from the kiss. He finally spoke, smirking. "Well the bad news is now it's a little more red than before."

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

You were determined to get all of your homework done within the hour so you could spend the rest of the day out with Shikamaru like you promised. He told you he didn't really mind staying in, to be honest you knew that much about him - he was perfectly okay with lazy days indoors. You, however, also knew that Shikamaru has had more than enough "lazy days indoors", and much prefer to get him out of the house for once. You scribbled away in your notebook, scrawling down sentence after sentence. You couldn't afford to put this work off any longer. Besides, you really wanted to spend more quality time with Shikamaru anyway.

A good amount of the hours the two of you spent together involved the two of you studying away, still enjoying each other's presence, but not really being able to enjoy it to the fullest. Sure, there were those rare days when both of you were free and could head out for the day, but, again, they were rare. Instead a lot of days were spent with you at his place or him at yours, crashing on the couch, you on one side and him on the other, legs all tangled together as each studied their own content. Some days it would be like this, and other days it would be the two of you sitting on the couch back to back, him typing away at his laptop while you read your textbooks. Sometimes as the two of you sat just like this you would turn to tap his elbow, a silent request to borrow a pen or a highlighter for you to use. He would hand it over and the two of you would continue whatever it was you were doing.

Today was one of those kinds of days, except Shikamaru was simply scrolling through his phone, having already done all of his own work but still choosing to position himself with his back to yours because, well, maybe it was just habit by now. You had been studying hard for the past hour, so hard that your hand was starting to cramp up. You managed to write down your final sentences, and practically stabbed the final punctuation mark onto your paper as a proclamation of the completion of your study. This, too, was a gesture that Shikamaru was familiar with, and he set his phone down, turning to look at you. You proudly went to slam the cover of the notebook down, only-

Your finger slid along the side of the notebook, leaving a little slit in your finger from the thin paper. You cried out, yelping in pain, vigorously shaking your hand as if that would make the pain any more bearable, but that only aggravated your already cramped hand even more. "Ow!" you cried, and your notebook slide to the floor as you curled up into a fetal position, sucking on the paper cut. Shikamaru put an arm around you.

"You okay?" he asked. You only frowned. He tried to pry your finger out of your mouth to inspect it but you refused. "Come on," he said, "let me see it." You shook your head. He rolled his eyes, "troublesome woman..." he muttered, before getting up to leave, coming back quickly with a band-aid. "Come on."

You gingerly extended your hand out to him, wincing as he took it in his, pressing a tissue onto the affected area to get rid of all the spit you just put on it. "That hurts," you whined, and he ignored you, putting the band-aid on and wrapping it tightly around your finger.

"You're not dying, woman," he said flatly. You crossed your arms as he finished. "Better?" You flexed the finger that had just been cut.

"I think so."

* * *

**Sai**

You had left the bathroom and walked into Sai's living room to find him hard at work, eyes narrowed as he sized up a canvas, putting some finishing touches on what was undoubtedly a new piece he was working on. He sat cross-legged on a stool, a finger tapping his nose as he looked the canvas up and down deep in thought. You stood there, leaning against the doorframe, just watching him. He looked so cute when he was in his little zone. He broke away at last, setting his pencil down, having sensed your presence.

"(Y/N)," he asked, "can you grab my palette? It's there on the table." You walked over to the table, taking his palette in hand, and made your way to Sai. The palette was already full of colors that he had planned out, globs of vibrant red, orange and yellow waiting to be used. You handed it to him and he took it from you, turning to his canvas once more. You felt an itch on your nose, scratching it. He turned back to you and stared, a smile creeping onto his face.

"What?" you asked, trying to make sense of the sudden appearance of a smile on his lips. He just bit his lips, stifling a little giggle. You asked him again, bemused, "what is it?"

He took his phone out of his pocket, opening it up and flipping to the camera, turning it to front-camera mode. He held the phone up to you and you saw a streak of orange go across your cheek and onto your nose. You brought your hand to your face, feeling the sticky paint and lifted your hand off your face to look at it. Sure enough, you had just managed to unintentionally streak paint across your face.

"Oh crap," you said at last, "this isn't oil paint is it?" Sai put his phone away, getting up and taking your hand, walking you over to the sink.

"Never fear, (Y/N), I have plenty experience with washing paint off," and he walked you back into his bathroom, opening up a cabinet, taking a clean towel out, running it under warm water and wringing the excess out. He turned to you, taking your face in one of his hands, his fingers tracing your jawline as he tipped your head up to look at him. He gazed into your eyes, that warm smile still lingering on his lips, still amused at your little blunder. He gently wiped the paint off your cheek with the cloth, then your nose. He turned your head again with the hand that rested on your jaw so you now faced the mirror, looking at your reflection and your (now) clean face. "Beautiful as always, my (Y/N)," he smiled before kissing you on the cheek, turning to leave the bathroom and walk back to his little work station.


End file.
